Award-winning documentary filmmaker and fine-art photographer Miguel Gandert shows his work highlighting his mestizaje heritage, and the fusion and tension of the relationship between Spanish Colonial and Native Cultures of the Americas. Runs through 12/29. Querer means to want, to desire, to be in a place, with its people. In folk terminology, querencia is such a place, the center space of desire, the root of belonging and yearning to belong, that vicinity where you first beheld the light. Querencia, in collective terms, is homeland. ~Enrique Lamadrid, Nuevo Mexico Profundo Miguel Gandert tells stories. He tells stories of his homeland, New Mexico (and beyond), its people and the cultural practices that distinguish communities from each other while simultaneously revealing their kinship. You will have to form your own words, however. Ganderts stories are told through penetrating, black and white photos. A primary focus of his work is his own mestizaje heritage and the fusion and tension of the relationship between Spanish Colonial and Native Cultures of the Americas. Miguel Gandert, a native of Espanola, NM, is an award-winning documentary and fine-art photographer and filmmaker. His photographs have been shown in galleries and museums throughout the world and are in numerous public collections including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the National Museum of American History and Art at the Smithsonian. Querencia: Rituals of the Rio Arriba opens Friday, October 6 at the New Mexico Humanities Council, 4115 Silver Ave SE, Albuquerque. An artists reception will be 6:00 pm 8:00 pm with an artist's discussion at 7:00 pm. The exhibit closes December 29, 2017. The Ibtihaj Barbie will be released for public in the fall of 2018. By Asian News International: Barbie manufacturer Mattel Inc has revealed the first ever hijab-wearing Barbie doll modelled after Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad. Thirty-one-year-old Ibtihaj became the first US Olympian to compete in fencing in a hijab last year during the Rio Olympic Games. The one-of-a-kind doll was unveiled at Glamour's Women of the Year Live Summit on Monday by the athlete herself. advertisement As reported by People, Muhammad worked with Mattel every step of the way in the design process and said her resemblance to the doll was uncanny. Something that she made sure her doll featured was a realistic sense of her body type and her signature eye liner. "It's so cool to see myself in this little doll form with my fencing uniform on. It says my name on the back and it has a fencing mask and the little sabre. I just love it", she said. She also tweeted: Thank you @Mattel for announcing me as the newest member of the @Barbie #Shero family! Im proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true ????? #shero pic.twitter.com/py7nbtb2KD- Ibtihaj Muhammad (@IbtihajMuhammad) November 13, 2017 Had to make sure my @Barbie slayed the red carpet in a @louellashop dress pic.twitter.com/vzf28aXuA6- Ibtihaj Muhammad (@IbtihajMuhammad) November 14, 2017 Muhammad's doll is a part of the 'Shero' line of Barbie dolls that also includes women like Ashley Graham, Zendaya, Kristin Chenoweth, Gabby Douglas, Emmy Rossum, Trisha Yearwood, Misty Copeland and Ava DuVernay. There was a time when Barbie dolls were criticised by people for setting unrealistic body and fashion standards for small girls. However, manufactures Mattel, Inc broke this image associated with the doll with the 'Shero' line (that would be female heroes), a programme that celebrates boundary-breaking women intended to inspire the next generation. Also Read: Orhan Pamuk's new novel is out and it revolves around well-diggers Muhammad said, "I'm excited to just partner with a brand that I know honours powerful women who are breaking barriers and whose sole goal is to impact the future leaders of tomorrow." "To be included in this conversation is very humbling and I'm over the moon about this whole thing," she added. Commenting on the importance of representing the first-ever hijab-wearing doll, Muhammad said, "I'm really excited to have this moment happen in my life and also for all these little girls now who can shop for Barbie doll that may look them, may wear a hijab like they do, or like their mom does, or like a friend does. But also have kids who aren't Muslim, who don't wear a hijab, to also have the opportunity to play with a doll that wears a hijab." advertisement Also Read: Love Asterix and Obelix? Here's a look at their new comic adventure "It's cool to have Muslim girls in the conversation, to have African Americans as fencers is also really cool. I feel like we're just shattering all the little glass ceilings here", she added. She hopes that this is just the start of more inclusive representation within the doll market and knows who she would like to nominate for a Shero doll next year. "I think it would be cool to have Malala have a Barbie doll. Her story line in general would be great to teach our kids today," she concluded. --- ENDS --- Donald Trump has drawn criticism for apparently tweeting about the wrong mass shooting when offering support to victims of a gunman. It is assumed the US president intended to offer support after the shooting in Ranchero Tehama, California, on Tuesday, in which four people were killed and 10 others injured. The gunman, named by authorities as Kevin Neal, visited seven locations brandishing a semi-automatic rifle. He was later shot by police after a stand-off. Trump sent out a tweet apparently in reference to the incident, but it referred to the Sutherland Springs shooting in Texas on November 5, when 26 people were killed at the First Baptist Church. Devin Kellys victims ranged in age from five to 72. Comment on the apparent error came swiftly from Twitter users, who accused the president of copying and pasting the tweet due to its similarity to one he sent on November 5. 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 Even TV presenter Piers Morgan, a friend of the US leader, tweeted Trump to point out his error. 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 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 Shortly after the tweet in question, Trump tweeted that it was great to be home from his trip to Asia over the last fortnight. He visited Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines during his tour. 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 Four hours after the tweet was sent, despite criticism, it remained live on the social network. The Chinese government should stop hospitals from subjecting LGBT people to conversion therapy involving electroshock, involuntary confinement and forced medication, a human rights group said. The report released by New York-based Human Rights Watch, based on interviews with 17 people subjected to the widely criticised techniques since 2009, comes as awareness has grown in China regarding the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Homosexuality was removed from China's official list of mental illnesses more than 15 years ago, but stories of families enrolling their relatives in treatments seeking to change their sexual orientation remain common. Yang Teng, a Chinese gay rights activist, said a doctor at a private clinic in the south-western city of Chongqing administered an electric shock to his finger as he was told to think about a time he had had sex with a man. "The experience had left a deep psychological impact on me," said Mr Yang. He said one session at the clinic in 2014 cost him 500 Chinese yuan (56). The rights group report said many victims of conversion therapy were forcibly taken to hospitals by their families, which became the subject of a groundbreaking lawsuit earlier this year. The hospitals locked patients in their rooms to prevent escapes. According to the report, patients were verbally harassed by doctors, called "sick", ''pervert", and "dirty", and some had to undergo "aversion therapy", where patients were forced to take nausea-inducing medication while watching gay pornography, so that they would associate sexual arousal with nausea. Chinese society continues to strongly favour children who can pass on their family name, and since same-sex marriage is not legal and same-sex couples may not adopt jointly, gay and lesbian people feel compelled to enter heterosexual marriages and have children. China also has no laws protecting people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, which deters victims of conversion therapy from seeking justice out of fear that their sexual orientation will be made public. Under guidelines issued by the National Health Committee, the government is required to investigate activities by hospitals that could violate the Mental Health Law, which prohibits forced confinement of people unless they pose a danger to others. But the government has yet to issue clear guidelines prohibiting conversion therapy and holding abusers accountable. The practice of conversion therapy persists because "many doctors are ignorant about homosexuality, and just follow the mainstream opinion, which is that being gay is abnormal, a sickness that must be treated", said Wang Long, an LGBT activist from Zhejiang province. The scope of public activism by LGBT rights groups is restricted and the depiction of gay people on television and popular web streaming services is banned. Despite that, activists say there has been some progress on LGBT rights, noting that Shanghai has hosted an annual gay pride parade since 2009 and internet censors have tolerated increasingly open debate about LGBT issues. Conversion therapy is also a profitable business. Doctors and clinics can charge up to 30,000 yuan (3,400) for "treatment", said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the Human Rights Watch LGBT Rights Programme. AP Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri gives a live TV interview in Riyadh on Sunday (Future TV/AP/PA) Lebanon's president has accused Saudi Arabia of detaining his country's prime minister, an escalation in the crisis that followed Saad Hariri's surprise resignation from the kingdom almost two weeks ago. In comments published on the official Twitter account of the president, Michel Aoun said nothing justifies that Mr Hariri has not returned home so far. "We consider him detained, arrested" in violation of international laws, Mr Aoun said. It was the first time Mr Aoun described Mr Hariri as a detainee. He had previously only questioned the "mysterious" circumstances under which he resigned. The rhetoric further deepens the crisis with Saudi Arabia, which is a backer of Mr Hariri, a dual Saudi-Lebanese national. Many believe Mr Hariri's decision was dictated by the kingdom amid its intensifying feud with Iran over influence in the region. Iran supports Mr Hariri's main rival in Lebanon, the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which is also a partner in Mr Hariri's unity government. Mr Aoun refused to recognise Mr Hariri's resignation and the Lebanese government is carrying on in a business-as-usual manner. In a quick reaction to Mr Aoun's comments, Mr Hariri tweeted that he was fine and will return to Lebanon as promised. "You will see", Mr Hariri said, without giving a time frame for his return. Mr Aoun is an ally of Hezbollah but had been close to Mr Hariri before the crisis. The head of Future TV, affiliated with Mr Hariri's party, says the prime minister is expected back before Sunday, when Arab foreign ministers meet in Cairo in an emergency session at Saudi Arabia's urging. Riyadh is expected to discuss Iran's rising influence in the region at the meeting, as well as the Lebanese crisis. Lebanon's foreign minister Gibran Bassil said in Paris that Lebanon wants to resolve Mr Hariri's "ambiguous" condition with Saudi Arabia in a "brotherly" fashion. Mr Bassil - who is on a European tour seeking support for his country amid the crisis - said Lebanon also has the option of resorting to international law, without elaborating. It was not immediately clear if Mr Bassil would attend the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting in Cairo. Riyadh has asked Saudi nationals to immediately leave Lebanon, with several other Arab countries and allies of the kingdom doing the same. Many fear punitive Saudi actions against Lebanon over Hezbollah. France's foreign minister is arriving in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to meet with Mr Hariri and Saudi officials. French President Emmanuel Macron paid a surprise visit to the kingdom last week. Mr Hariri resigned 12 days ago in a shocking televised address from Riyadh that plunged his country into turmoil. In a televised interview from the kingdom, Mr Hariri pledged to come back but did not give a specific date. His appearance did not dispel rumours that Mr Hariri was forced to resign and is prevented from returning home. AP Brian Madeux uses an infrared device to look at his veins as nurse Siobhan Field prepares for the first human gene editing therapy (Eric Risberg/AP/PA) Scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in a bold attempt to permanently change a person's DNA to try to cure a disease. The experiment was done in California on Monday on Brian Madeux, 44. Through an IV, he received billions of copies of a corrective gene and a genetic tool to cut his DNA in a precise spot. Mr Madeux - who has a metabolic disease called Hunter syndrome - described it as "kind of humbling" to be the first person to try the procedure. He added: " I'm willing to take that risk. Hopefully it will help me and other people." Signs of whether it is working may come in a month while tests will show for sure in three months. If it is successful, it could give a major boost to the fledgling field of gene therapy. Scientists have edited people's genes before, altering cells in the lab that are then returned to patients. There are also gene therapies that do not involve editing DNA. However, these methods can only be used for a few types of diseases and some give results that may not last. Some others supply a new gene like a spare part but cannot control where it inserts in the DNA, possibly causing a new problem like cancer. This time, the gene tinkering is happening in a precise way inside the body, described as like sending a mini-surgeon along to place the new gene in exactly the right location. Dr Sandy Macrae, president of Sangamo Therapeutics, the California company testing it for two metabolic diseases and haemophilia, said: "We cut your DNA, open it up, insert a gene, stitch it back up. Invisible mending. "It becomes part of your DNA and is there for the rest of your life." It also means there is no going back, no way to erase any mistakes the editing might cause. Independent expert Dr Eric Topol, of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in San Diego, described the experiment as "toying with mother nature". He added that the risks cannot be fully known but the studies should move forward because these are incurable diseases. Protections are in place to help ensure safety and animal tests were very encouraging, said Dr Howard Kaufman, a Boston scientist on the National Institutes of Health panel that approved the studies. Dr Kaufman added: "So far there's been no evidence that this is going to be dangerous. Now is not the time to get scared." People with Hunter syndrome lack a gene that makes an enzyme that breaks down certain carbohydrates. These build up in cells and cause havoc throughout the body. Patients may have frequent colds and ear infections, distorted facial features, hearing loss, heart problems, breathing trouble, skin and eye problems, bone and joint flaws, bowel issues and brain and thinking problems. Weekly IV doses of the missing enzyme can ease some symptoms but cost 100,000 US dollars (75,000) to 400,000 dollars (300,000) a year. AP Mourners arrive at the Floresville Event Center to attend a funeral for members of the Holcombe family (AP Photo/Eric Gay) Three thousand mourners filled an event centre to capacity for the funeral of eight members of a family who were among the dozens killed in a shooting at a small Texas church. Families of the victims accompanied black and white hearses in limousines as fire marshals and sheriff's deputies shepherded hundreds more - some in funeral attire, others in everyday clothes - to the service in Floresville, Texas, about 12 miles from the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where the shooting occurred. Church member John Holcombe, among the massacre's few survivors, invited the public to attend the funeral of his pregnant wife, Crystal, 36, and three of her children, Greg, 13, Emily, 11, and Megan, nine; his parents, 60-year-old Bryan and Karla Holcombe, 58; a brother, 36-year-old Marc Holcombe, and Marc's 18-month-old daughter, Noah. They will be buried privately on an unspecified date. News reporters were barred from entering the event centre and were being held in a pen with two trucks obscuring the view inside. The gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, began firing into the church as John Holcombe's father Bryan an assistant pastor, ascended to the pulpit. Walking up and down the centre aisle, Kelley killed 25 people at the church, including crying babies at point-blank range, according to witness accounts. Authorities have put the official toll at 26, because Crystal Holcombe was pregnant. Mr Holcombe was managing the church's audio-visual operations at the back of the building and escaped with minor injuries. Crystal Holcombe's seven-year-old daughter Evelyn also escaped the barrage of gunfire. Her eldest child, 14-year-old Phillip, had stayed home from church services that day. Kelley died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound after he fled in a vehicle. Authorities say Kelley was involved in a domestic dispute with his mother-in-law, a member of the church who was not present that day. However, among the victims was Lula White, his wife's 71-year-old grandmother. Kelley had a history of domestic violence: He was given a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force after pleading guilty to assaulting his first wife and stepson. Under federal law, anyone convicted of domestic violence cannot purchase a firearm. But the Air Force failed to inform federal law enforcement authorities that Kelley had been court-martialed. When he tried to buy guns after his release from a military prison, his conviction was not in the database used to conduct background checks, and the purchases went through. In addition to those killed, another 20 people were injured in the shooting. Eight survivors remained in hospital at two San Antonio-area hospitals, their condition ranging from good to critical. Brooke Army Medical Center reported five adults, listed in good to critical condition. University Health System had two children and one adult still in care, with their conditions ranging from fair to serious. Further details on those in hospital were not released. AP A team of prosecutors is being set up in New York to deal with animal abusers after a case in which an Omagh man allegedly subjected his flatmate's cat to a litany of torture. Declan Garrity (25) left the United States shortly after being charged with animal cruelty at New York's supreme court last year. He is accused of ripping out the cat's claws, breaking bones in its face, pelvis and legs and burning it during a three-month period. The financial analyst was sacked from his job in the New York headquarters of Barclays Bank after the sickening details of what the cat was subjected to were published in the city's three daily newspapers. Garrity's high-profile case is one of a number cited as the reason for the establishment of the Big Apple's new task force and the Co Tyrone man will be re-arrested and tried for animal cruelty should he attempt to re-enter the US. He was due to attend court in April last year to be arraigned on charges that he repeatedly abused Lucy, an 8lb pet, in an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Garrity was also facing a charge of violating a protective order by returning to the apartment to retrieve his belongings without a police escort. His non-appearance led to the judge revoking his $6,000 (4,578) bail and issuing an arrest warrant. At the time, the Co Tyrone man's lawyer told the court that Garrity had returned to Northern Ireland after being informed he risked arrest for immigration violations if he remained in the US. It's understood that his former employers paid for Garrity's flight back to Belfast, with his work visa about to be invalidated due to his dismissal. However, he would have been allowed to stay in New York because he was facing criminal charges which can carry sentences of up to four years in jail. Garrity was first arrested in February 2016 after his female flatmate took Lucy to a local vet. He diagnosed two right leg fractures, a fracture of the left pelvis, burns on several parts of the body, broken claws and broken teeth. This resulted in the animal having to be fed through a tube. Garrity, a Queen's University graduate, who had been working in America since 2014, claimed the injuries were a result of an iron falling on the animal. A fundraising page set up for Lucy attracted $14,000 in donations from outraged animal lovers, and the feline has since made a full recovery. Garrity had no comment to make when our sister paper Sunday Life tracked him down to his parents' rural home outside Omagh last year. The new animal protection squad will investigate cases referred to them by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the NYPD's Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad. New York district attorney Cy Vance Jr said: "For many years, assistant district attorneys from different areas of my office have strongly investigated and prosecuted cases of animal abuse and cruelty. "This formalised program streamlines our work and ensures that each case is overseen by an expert in the field." The families of Eamon Fox and Gary Convie, two Catholic workmen murdered by the UVF 23 years ago, will be hoping that the Director of Public Prosecutions is correct to be optimistic that there is a reasonable prospect of conviction The families of Eamon Fox and Gary Convie, two Catholic workmen murdered by the UVF 23 years ago, will be hoping that the Director of Public Prosecutions is correct to be optimistic that there is a reasonable prospect of conviction. While it would be improper for us to comment on the potential case against the suspect, it is public knowledge that part of the evidence will be given by assisting offender Gary Haggarty, a former UVF commander. The use of assisting offenders - or supergrasses as they used to be known - is a tactic which has had a chequered past in Northern Ireland. Its use during the darkest days of the Troubles in the 1980s served a dual purpose. It led to hundreds of suspected republican and loyalist terrorists being arrested and held on remand for considerable periods, giving the hard-pressed security forces valuable breathing space and the ability to regroup during times of constant violence. And it did result in some successful prosecutions. However, it was a tactic which was eventually discredited and largely abandoned after the judiciary complained they were being used for political purposes. But it has been resurrected in recent times as police sought to bring to justice a UVF gang based in the Mount Vernon estate on the outskirts of north Belfast suspected of involvement in a large number of killings - mostly sectarian - and also said to be deeply penetrated by RUC Special Branch informers. It has met with little success. In 2012 two brothers who became assisting offenders were branded liars by the judge and 12 of the 13 men in the dock walked free. Haggarty, who agreed to become an assisting offender, pleaded guilty to a series of crimes including murder and has already spent three years in custody. He was interviewed by detectives more than 1,000 times producing huge volumes of evidence but the lack of collaboration led to a decision earlier this year not to prosecute 13 men. Another murder case against two other men was dropped later. Bringing sophisticated terrorists to justice is a difficult task as the legacy of the Troubles proves with almost 3,000 unsolved murders, and the police and legal authorities are entitled to use every legitimate method to bring some comfort or closure to the bereaved. But they must be careful not to add to families' pain by raising hope and producing failure. The unfortunate misunderstanding over the future siting of the Enniskillen bomb memorial has left a sour taste after the recent solemn commemoration of the 11 people killed and scores of others injured in the IRA bombing of the Enniskillen remembrance service on November 8, 1987. Hopefully, this will be sorted out in the very near future, as the Enniskillen bombing is seen, in the unionist community, as an outrageous attack by the IRA on their religious and political identity. It is, therefore, a very sensitive and important issue. The bombing was, by any standards, one of the most outrageous incidents of the Troubles - not just because of its large death toll, but also because it involved the targeting of a remembrance service with its marked religious character, sacred in particular to the Protestant community. In simple terms, it was an unjustified and cowardly attack on a largely civilian gathering in the centre of Enniskillen to prayerfully commemorate the dead of the two World Wars. The great irony of the Enniskillen attack was that it was carried out by an organisation, namely the IRA, which was purportedly carrying out its paramilitary actions because it wished to bring about a united Ireland. Through this action - and, indeed, the rest of its misguided campaign of armed struggle - it undermined the very objective to which it was allegedly wedded. For what the Enniskillen bomb did was to increase the determination of unionists to oppose a united Ireland and to drive a further wedge of distrust and division between the two communities in Fermanagh and beyond. The only legitimate way to a united Ireland in 1987 was by peaceful, democratic persuasion. What was true then is still true today and the job of democratic nationalists remains to convince unionists, solely by democratic and peaceful means, that a better future lies for them in a united Ireland. However, through its futile and self-justified campaign, the IRA set back the cause of a united Ireland by one, if not, two generations. But the Enniskillen bombing also produced something saintly and palpably good, in the wonderful person of Gordon Wilson. Despite the murder of his young daughter, Marie, and being a victim of the bombing himself - having been buried with the dying Marie under the rubble of the bomb explosion - he emerged as an advocate of peace and reconciliation. Having been rescued and knowing of the death of his young nurse daughter, he remarkably said: "I bear no ill will; I bear no grudge." He was even quoted as saying: "I will pray for these men tonight and every night." What a powerful personal testimony to forgiveness and reconciliation were those words alone. He did not demand revenge, or even justice, as he might reasonably have been expected to do. He had captured in those phrases and, indeed, in his subsequent, rather short, life of peaceful advocacy, the spirit of peace, and not surprisingly went on to set up a trust called the Spirit of Enniskillen. This was to promote reconciliation and, in particular, to provide for young people on both sides of the divide an opportunity to meet one another and to travel abroad together in order to get experience of living outside Northern Ireland, so as to promote greater understanding. He was also appointed to the Irish Senate by Taoiseach Albert Reynolds in 1989 and there continued to promote peaceful understanding between north and south and simply among everyone he met. He met the IRA in an attempt to understand its action in Enniskillen and elsewhere. He also met Sinn Fein in the late-1980s and early-1990s, when it was neither popular nor profitable to do so. He challenged the IRA through dialogue, common sense and reason to justify its actions. He did so out of a sincere conviction that it must be persuaded and encouraged to end its violence and work through politics to achieve change. However, he was not convinced that his efforts made any impact upon it, or indeed anyone else, including loyalist paramilitaries, that he also met and tried to get to put away the gun. Gordon Wilson was a modest man and, although a Senator in Dublin, he was not a professional politician by any means. Yet he was disarmingly powerful, because of his modesty and the very simplicity of his message of peace and reconciliation. He was a most unlikely voice for peace, given the enormous pain and hurt that he had to bear in his personal life. The cruel and senseless violence of the Enniskillen bomb, 30 years ago this month, transformed him from a quiet, unassuming draper into a powerful advocate for peace in our society. So, out of that terrible evil, there came great goodness - and that is something we should remember and value. By PTI: Bhopal, Nov 15 (PTI) The Hindu Mahasabha installed a bust of Mahatma Gandhis assassin Nathuram Godse and consecrated it at its Gwalior office today, provoking demand by the Congress for booking the outfit for sedition. The BJP, however, said The Congress should not lay "sole claim" to Mahatma Gandhis legacy and, if a law was violated by the Hindu Mahasabha, it would be dealt with accordingly. advertisement Godse was hanged in Ambala jail this day in 1949 which the organisation observed as balidan diwas (the day of sacrifice). Hindu Mahasabha national vice president Jaiveer Bharadwaj said a 32-inch tall bust of Godse was installed at its office in Daulatganj area of Gwalior city. He said the ritual of pran pratishtha (consecration) was performed and panchamrit-- a mixture of honey, liquid jaggery, milk, yogurt and ghee--was distributed as prasad to the worshippers. An arti, a Hindu ritual, was also performed. Bharadwaj told PTI by phone that the Mahasabha had sought permission of the district administration to construct a temple to Godse on November 9 which was denied. He said now the temple has been established at its office. "Nobody should have any objection to this as we have set up the temple in our own space. It is Mahasabhas own property," Bharadwaj said, adding Godse had once stayed there for a week. Godse, he said, was a great nationalist, who was against the division of the country. "Godses ashes are still kept in Pune. According to Godses last wish, his ashes will be immersed only when his dream of Akhand Bharat (undivided India) is fulfilled," he added. The Congress, however, took offence and demanded that a sedition case be registered against the outfit. "This is a conspiracy to disgrace the Father of the Nation. On the one hand, Mahatmas statue is burnt in Morena, while on the other Hindu Mahasabha has established the temple of Bapus killer in Gwalior. We demand that a case of sedition be filed against these people," Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Singh said. Senior Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia was also critical of the development. "A temple of Bapus killer is being established just under the nose of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who pretended to be fasting using the name of Gandhiji. This is a shameful and condemnable act," Scindia tweeted. The BJP, however, said Congress should desist from claiming sole ownership of the Mahatma. "Mahatma Gandhis legacy is the legacy of this country and the Congress should not try to claim sole ownership of him. If anybody has violated the law and the Constitution, such activity would come under the purview of law," state BJPs spokesperson Rajnish Jain told PTI. advertisement He said the BJP had adopted Gandhian socialism and economic policies as its fundamental principles at the time of its foundation. He said the Modi government set itself several important targets to mark the Mahatmas 150th birth anniversary. The police has taken cognizance of the issue and the superintendent of police of Gwalior has been asked to look into it. "The issue has come to our knowledge. Gwalior SP is looking into the matter and action would be taken after obtaining legal opinion. Police is on alert to deal with any incident," IG (Intelligence), Police Headquarters, Makrand Deoskar told PTI. PTI ADU NP SK SK --- ENDS --- It was probably inevitable that the police, once they learned that former paramilitaries had told their stories to Boston College researchers, would lust after the chance to read their scripts. The interviews, conducted by Dr Anthony McIntyre, an old Provo himself, promised to have priceless material in them. With his insight into the paramilitary life, having lived it to the full, McIntyre was likely to reach the parts that other academics couldn't. When I first heard of the project, I thought it was wonderful. Here were the gunmen and bombers telling their stories - on the condition that they would not be made public until after they died. Journalists and writers and interested groups, like victims and their families, the security services and plain historians, had a resource that would open up to them to potentially help to right the wrongs of propaganda and lies. And there wasn't much else happening to assure us of a legacy of information and attitude that would potentially counter the half-truths and ambiguities of peacemaking. None of this was going to be good enough for the police, however. They weren't going to be happy to have to wait for an old gunman to die before they could read his confession. They would want him in the dock - even if they could only secure a two-year sentence for crimes committed before the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. And it wasn't their job to ask what the rest of us might be losing when they went after the interviews; but what we were losing was massive. When the first subpoenas against the material emerged, several of those who gave interviews asked for the recordings and transcripts to be returned to them. Those have all probably been destroyed now. Certainly, some of them have. And a legacy of the fright that momentarily obliging paramilitaries got is that they clammed up for researchers, or, at least, became more guarded. They are not going to concede information that might incriminate them. This is a radical change. In the earlier periods of the peace process, some former paramilitaries had been remarkably frank with writers like Kevin Toolis and Ed Moloney and with the Press. And, thankfully, research continues beyond the scare that the PSNI created, but always with the thought in mind that the police have a will to make arrests and get convictions, even for offences committed decades ago. And even that they are pushing for results that almost inevitably elude them. The strongest signal of this intention was the arrest of Gerry Adams in May 2014. Republicans said at the time that this was politically-motivated action by "dark forces" in the PSNI. It was, in fact, no less than a determined attempt to put Adams in jail. And while those of us who write the history of the Troubles might fulminate about Adams's blithe refusal to ever concede he was an IRA leader, he knows that, if he did own up to it now, he would be arrested again. The effort to create a record of the past through oral history is now being inhibited by the police. That would not be such a problem if the other mechanisms available to us for securing information about the past were functioning. But they aren't. The Historical Enquiries Team (HET) collated a huge amount of valuable information but distributed it widely to interested families, so there is no central record of its work available to us. And some of the reports that have come into the public domain have proven to be remarkably slight, repeating only what was known, including clips from newspapers and references to books. In effect, they recycle what oral history we already had, rather than add to it. The Fresh Start agreement developed plans for an oral history archive but without the Executive sitting to allocate resources to such a scheme, it is currently in abeyance. There was a plan to create a peace centre at the Maze prison site but that was scrapped by Peter Robinson as First Minister, out of a fear that it would endorse the IRA. During talks with the parties on the legacy of the past, Richard Haass proposed a museum of the Troubles, an idea I had myself aired previously in articles in this paper and others. There were no serious takers, although there is a Troubles archive at the Ulster Museum and a record of the art of the Troubles, compiled with the assistance of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. And there have been other fruitful projects, like the BBC's series of victim stories, which were aired through one year in the late-1990s. Gathering stories of the past is part of the work of all media outlets. Journalists, however, tend to focus on the story of the day and not to collate their work. The exception to this was the remarkable Lost Lives archive, a record of all the killings of the Troubles period. But Lost Lives was not oral history; oral history is a record of the stories of individuals. It is memoir. It is a flawed record in many ways, because people who were at the same location will remember differently what happened there. Sometimes they are demonstrably wrong. The Boston College project was a brilliant effort to draw on the stories of the paramilitaries. The police are continuing to seek to advance cases against some of those who told their stories, even though, as evidence, they appear not to be strong. Dr McIntyre himself has legally challenged the police efforts to access his own story and has now scored a point in the court battle. The police have been given two weeks to explain why a "defective process", which brought McIntyre's recording back to Belfast, should not be grounds for sending it back to Boston. The case proceeds against Ivor Bell, allegedly one of McIntyre's interviewees. The defence argues that he suffers from dementia and is not fit to be tried. The Boston College project was potentially of immense value to historians and to future generations of traumatised families and it has been scuppered by the police, blundering in, to little benefit to themselves, trampling in size nines over the best prospect we have had of an historical corrective. They are right to be getting on with their work while the politicians fail to develop an alternative. But there are costs beyond security concerns that no one is seriously yet taking into account. While the event happens deep in rural parts of Berkeley County, it is no less important. It started over two decades ago by a woman once paralyzed from a tumor on her spine. She later beat back the disability enough to walk and get back to work and life. Read moreAnnual Kids Day is back on in Berkeley County 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. 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In order to foster research and industrial linkages by promoting cross-border cooperation under support of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of DST and MITACS of Canada, a new mobility based student internship was also announced With an aim of opening a new chapter in the bilateral relationships of India and Canada, Department of Science & Technology has organised a two day India-Canada Technology Summit in New Delhi. The Summit was inaugurated by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests & Climate Change and Navdeep Singh Bains, Canadas Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. In his inaugural address, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that As partners in the 21st century knowledge economy, this Technology Summit reinforces our common belief in the power of science and technology in contributing to the present and future strategic Indo-Canadian partnership. A new call for joint projects under the Indo-Canadian Industrial R&D programme was also announced on this occasion. Industry led joint R&D projects that have significant potential for commercialisation leading to product or process development in the areas of advanced manufacturing, clean technologies, smart cities and food and agro technologies will be supported by DST from India and the National Research Council of Canada. In order to foster research and industrial linkages by promoting cross-border cooperation under support of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of DST and MITACS of Canada, a new mobility based student internship was also announced. The new phase of India Canada - IMPACTS program between DST and NSERC, Canada, was announced to promote multidisciplinary research partnerships aimed to deliver practical solutions through application of science and technology. MoU to facilitate continued innovative partnerships between Canadian and Indian researchers was also signed by Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and Dr. B. Mario Pinto, President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The themes for the Technology Summit highlight a broad range of research and innovations areas where India and Canada have common interests. A particular focus of the Summit is highlighting the role of women in science and business as well as promoting the start-up and incubator communities in India and Canada. The Canadian and Indian companies for the Tech Summit include world class innovators and technologies that have potential to forge new knowledge-market-economy connect at bilateral level. Sixty smart technologies were also showcased as a part of the exhibition. By PTI: Harare/New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) The Indian community in Zimbabwe is safe, the Indian mission in Harare said today after unrest in the country that triggered speculation of a coup. Zimbabwes army took control of the country and said it had President Robert Mugabe and his wife in custody. The Army said it was securing government offices and patrolling the capitals streets following unrest. advertisement The Indian Embassy in Harare in a tweet said, "Situation in Harare is calm. Embassy staff, Indian Community, both PIO (Person of Indian Origin) and expat are safe. No reason for concern and worry." The beginning of Indian presence in Zimbabwe goes back to about 1890 when Indian plantation workers in apartheid South Africa crossed over to the then Southern Rhodesia. At present the number of Zimbabweans of Indian origin, who are predominantly from the province of Gujarat, is estimated at about 9,000, the mission said. The strength of the expatriate Indian community is 500, it said. PTI NSA --- ENDS --- By PTI: (Eds: Updating with Swarajs quotes) Harare/New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said tonight that she was in constant touch with the Indian Embassy in Zimbabwe and assured that all Indians were safe in the country where unrest has triggered speculation of a coup. Zimbabwes Army took control of the country and said it had President Robert Mugabe and his wife in custody. The Army said it was securing government offices and patrolling the capitals streets following unrest. advertisement Swaraj said there was no cause for concern for Indians. "I am in constant touch with Indian Embassy in Zimbabwe. Our Ambassador has informed me that Indians there are safe and there is no cause for concern," she tweeted. Earlier, the Indian Embassy in Harare, in a tweet, said, "Situation in Harare is calm. Embassy staff, Indian Community, both PIO (Person of Indian Origin) and expats are safe. No reason for concern and worry." The beginning of Indian presence in Zimbabwe goes back to about 1890 when Indian plantation workers in apartheid South Africa crossed over to the then Southern Rhodesia. At present the number of Zimbabweans of Indian origin, who are predominantly from the province of Gujarat, is estimated at about 9,000, the mission said. The strength of the expatriate Indian community is 500, it said. PTI NSA/PYK ASK ASK --- ENDS --- Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 15/11/2017 (1827 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. RM of WEST INTERLAKE The last time Irene Saunders saw her 18-year-old son, Bill, he was stumbling into the family home, dripping blood from a gunshot wound to his arm, wearing leg shackles. He was only there a few minutes late Tuesday before taking off into the night. I asked how he got here, and he said he stole a vehicle and he grabbed a few things, she said Wednesday afternoon. He said police had him up for manslaughter for 20 years. He said he would call me when he could. An unmarked white police van is seen at the bottom of a large snow-filled ditch off Highway 417 just south of the Lake Manitoba First Nation. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press) We didnt hear anything more until a sergeant from Winnipeg came and said he was dead. During those frantic minutes at her rural Interlake home, Irene didnt know her son was already the subject of a manhunt. Bill Saunders had attacked an RCMP officer and stole his pistol and an unmarked police van Tuesday night while Saunders was being transported to Winnipeg. Multiple sources told the Free Press Saunders overpowered the lone officer after he was allowed to go to the bathroom on the side of the road. RCMP later tracked down the van just outside Lake Manitoba First Nation, where Saunders was later shot dead by police. The Independent Investigation Unit of Manitoba, which investigates all serious incidents involving on- and off-duty police officers in the province, has taken over the case. IIU head Zane Tessler couldnt say Wednesday how many officers were involved in trying to recapture Saunders or how many shots were fired. However, Tessler confirmed there were only two people in the van at the time of the initial assault a male RCMP officer and the 18-year-old prisoner. He wouldnt reveal the officers age or how long hes been a Mountie. Were just starting the investigation and still in the early stages, Tessler said. The IIU said in a statement later Wednesday the van was on Highway 6, south of St. Laurent, an estimated 80 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, when the lone officer became involved in a physical altercation with the prisoner who was being escorted from Ashern. The officer discharged his firearm while he was attacked by the prisoner, who then gained control of the gun and fled in the police van, the IIU said. The officer suffered non-threatening injuries and has since been released from hospital, the RCMP said. Saunders was in custody after being accused of robbing a video lottery terminal worker at the Lake Man Gaming Lounge on Lake Manitoba First Nation shortly after midnight Saturday. Lake Manitoba Chief Cornell McLean said the VLT worker who is seven months pregnant was pepper-sprayed during the robbery. Her physical health is OK, but the violent events of the last few days in the quiet community are upsetting, he said. I feel for my community. At the time of the manhunt, Saunders mother and two sisters, Diane and Rebecca, said they thought he was still in protective custody in Lundar, after getting death threats from a member of the First Nation. They said RCMP arrested the wrong person for the robbery. Winnipeg Free Press Files It wasnt him he was home with us, said Diane, 20. Diane was also home Tuesday night, when Saunders burst into the family home. He was covered in blood, she said. He said he got shot by the cops. There was so much blood he was dripping. He couldnt move his left arm. Rebecca, 23, said her brother was the kindest and most helpful person. He would give you the shirt off his back, she said. If you were stuck in a ditch you wouldnt have to flag him down he would already be stopping. Wednesday morning, the unmarked white police van could be seen at the bottom of a large, snow-filled ditch off Highway 417, just south of the Lake Manitoba First Nation. The van was upright with its front facing the highway. It appeared to have gone off the road where a sharp curve is located and the speed limit drops to 80 km/h. Investigators were gathering evidence into the fatal shooting throughout the day. Meanwhile, two RCMP cruisers guarded the scene where the prisoner reportedly attacked the officer. Yellow police tape blocked the road located at the north border of the RM of Woodlands on the west side of Highway 6, a few kilometres south of the turnoff to Twin Lakes Beach. A nearby resident, who didnt want to be named, said numerous police cruisers were at the site Tuesday night. We dont know for sure what happened there, but police vehicles were there all through the night, he said. With so many vehicles, we knew it was serious. I hope the officer is all right. McLean said the RCMP were in touch with the First Nation Tuesday night to let representatives know the suspect, considered armed and dangerous, was in the area. Later that night, he found out police shot Saunders near a home on the reserve. According to the IIU, the suspect was located near the Lake Manitoba First Nation at 11:50 p.m. A lengthy pursuit ensued, ending about an hour later, when the unmarked Ford-150 Econoline entered the ditch, the IIU said. The man was shot during the arrest, RCMP said in a news release. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Wednesday morning RCMP officers were on Highway 6, just south of St. Laurent, where the police officer was overpowered Tuesday night. (Wayne Glowacki / Winnipeg Free Press) An employee at the Lake Manitoba Convenience Store and Gas Bar said when he arrived at work Tuesday at 11 p.m., the doors were locked. He learned there was a manhunt underway in the area. They shut down everything, said the worker, who did not give his name. They told me someone stole a police vehicle. They said he had a gun. Irene Saunders said if her son did what RCMP are accusing him of doing in the hours before his death, they would have had to provoke him. He would never have done this. I want the investigation to find out what happened not just now, but in the last year. He has been accused of break and entering, and robberies, but he hasnt been around when he has been accused of doing those things. His sister, Diane, said she is also hoping the investigation will answer other questions the family has. We heard there were two officers transporting him, not one, she said. How could he have got away from two officers when he had leg cuffs on? We want to know what happened. We want to know the truth. with files from Bill Redekop kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 14/11/2017 (1828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. One of Canadas most notorious white nationalists is planning to hold a conference in Winnipeg Wednesday. Frederick Paul Fromm, an Ontario resident and longtime white nationalist activist, is promoting a talk entitled Charlottesville Changes Everything, which he plans to deliver this week at a Winnipeg hotel. Screenshots of social media and emails provided to the Free Press reveal the date, location and time of the presentation, which had not been made public. Paul Fromm is one of Canada's most notorious white nationalists. (ADRIAN LAM / The Canadian Press) In a past talk uploaded to YouTube under the same name, Fromm said over the long haul the events of Charlottesville where an alleged white nationalist plowed a car into a group of anti-fascist protesters, killing one would prove to be a good thing for the far right. There really is a huge conflict going on in America and I take a lot of comfort in that I see evidence of the conflict here in Canada, he said, referencing the violence in Charlottesville. Omar Kinnarath, a local anti-fascist organizer with Fascist Free Treaty 1 (FF1), said his organization is aware of Fromms scheduled visit to Winnipeg. He added that FF1 has been in contact with other anti-fascist groups to discuss how best to deal with the planned event. Hes legitimately Canadas most famous white supremacist, a world-famous Holocaust denier and someone whos been in the scene for years, Kinnarath said. I guess hes presenting himself more as a free speech advocate than a white supremacist these days, but all you really need to do is Google him and you can see what hes about. Fromm is a disgraced former educator who was dismissed by the Ontario College of Teachers in the late 1990s for his association with neo-Nazi organizations. In the past, hes self-described as an advocate for white nationalists and used to host a radio show on the white supremacist and neo-Nazi website Stormfront. He also has long-standing ties with some of North Americas most well-known neo-Nazis, white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan members, including David Duke, Don Andrews, Don Black and the late Ernst Zundel, among others. Kinnarath said he was unsure how many people were expected to attend Fromms talk. It could be the five local neo-Nazi goons who show up, or it could be 20 to 30 people, he said, before adding its possible others on the far-right, who arent explicitly neo-Nazis, could attend. We do anti-fascism a little different here and theres a smart way of doing this. We dont want to escalate things. Wed prefer the hotel to take care of this privately. We want to deal with this intelligently, but were willing to deal with this in any other way. When reached for comment, Ran Ukashi, Manitoba regional director for Bnai Brith Canada, said his organization was unaware of Fromms scheduled appearance in Winnipeg. If this information is true then its a very unfortunate and disturbing development. The last thing Canadians, as well as Manitobans, need, are divisive individuals disseminating hateful views in our communities, Ukashi said. The fruits of such vitriolic discourse have made themselves apparent across Canada. Its unfortunate that such hateful views continue to find an audience among a small portion of contemporary society in Canada. Bnai Brith is the oldest Jewish service organization in the world and dedicates itself to combating anti-Semitism and bigotry. News of Fromms scheduled talk comes on the heels of a number of anti-fascist rallies in the city over the past year. The most recent of which came in September, when anti-fascists mobilized against an anti-immigration march organized (then cancelled) by the Worldwide Coalition Against Islam. Fromm did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. ryan.thorpe.media@mail.com With various reports of its ground staff's unruly behaviour making national headlines, IndiGo Airline's brand image has taken a major hit. By India Today Web Desk: IndiGo, an airline that bagged multiple awards for providing cheapest flight rates and one that had gained momentum with positive word of mouth, is now going through a rough phase. IndiGo's brand image has come under fire with many cases of its ground staff misbehaving with passengers coming to light. The airlines tried its best to tackle the issues, sometimes by issuing an apology, sometimes by taking action against its staff and sometimes even taking a stand for its staff. advertisement Despite all this IndiGo that had become a preferred airline for passengers, since its flights are on-time and rates offered are almost always the cheapest, took a hit. And it just doesn't seem to end. Here's a look at all that happened that tainted IndiGo's brand image - #1 PV Sindhu On November 4, Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu tweeted about a 'very bad experience' she had with IndiGo airlines' ground staff before boarding an IndiGo flight to Mumbai from Hyderabad. Sorry to say ..i had a very bad experience??when i was flying by 6E 608 flight to bombay on 4th nov the ground staff by name Mr ajeetesh(1/3)- Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) November 4, 2017 In a subsequent tweet, Sindhu said, "Ground staff (skipper) Mr Ajeetesh behaved very badly and rudely with me. When the air hostess Ms Ashima tried to advise him to behave properly with the passenger (me), but to my surprise he behaved very rudely with her. If these type of people work for a reputed airline like Indigo they will spoil their reputation." In a statement issued in response to Sindhu, IndiGo said, "Ms P V Sindhu boarded flight 6E608 Hyderabad - Mumbai last carrying oversized baggage which was not fitting into the overhead bin. Ms Sindhu was informed that it will be moved to cargo hold of the aircraft. This is the same policy we follow for all customers," and maintained its staff remained calm during the entire conversation. As it often happens on Twitter, hell broke loose, and people started raining their complaints about the airline and the airline tried to control the situation with polite responses. #2 Rajeev Katiyal In an incident that happened at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport three weeks ago, a passenger -- Rajeev Katiyal -- was stopped from boarding the carrier bus after an altercation with two ground staff members of IndiGo Airlines. The news broke on November 7 after the video of the incident went viral. The altercation was a result of the staff members objecting to Katiyal taking shade under a plane's wing while waiting for the carrier bus and him using the 'F' word. The staff members, who got offended, denied him entry to the carrier bus. Katiyal, visibly annoyed, tried entering the bus but to no avail. The video then shows Kaityal charging at one of the staff members and being held from behind by another and being pushed away. advertisement On Katiyal pushing one of the staff members again, screaming "How dare you pushed me", the staff, now three of them, could be seen using full force to keep Katiyal under control, strangulating him. Soon after the video went viral, three weeks after the incident, IndiGo tweeted apologising to Katiyal, and as the incident made headlines, fired a staff who they found guilty - the whistle blower who happened to record the video. We condemn the actions of our staff & have taken stern action. We truly apologize for this. Such behavior is unacceptable - @AdityaGhosh6E pic.twitter.com/lGNT8An7rQ- IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) November 7, 2017 Quite obviously, this action did not go down well with Twitter users and IndiGo was slammed left, right and centre. I do agree! They are so unprofessional and pathetic at the https://t.co/KxWMQi0XtU are going soon,watch your ditch !- Richard a zilkar (@ZilkarRichard) November 8, 2017 After seeing the brutal assault on a passenger, almost throttling him to death, should Indigo not be boycotted - at least for a month?- Dr. S.Y. Quraishi (@DrSYQuraishi) November 7, 2017 advertisement #3 Passenger injured falling from a wheelchair On November 13, a female passenger who was to fly IndiGo was injured after she fell from a wheelchair while being ferried by the airline staffer at the Lucknow airport, and the "mishap" triggered a spat between the carrier and the AAI. The incident happened on November 11 and IndiGo claimed that the mishap happened due to crack in the floor at the airport. The Airports Authority of India (AAI), on the other hand, said the real cause behind the accident is "gross negligence of IndiGo staff". In a statement, an IndiGo spokesperson apologised for the incident involving the passenger Urvashi Parikh Viren. "Our IndiGo representative was pushing her wheelchair towards the arrival hall. As he was guiding her wheelchair through a vehicular lane, which was dimly lit at that time of the night, her wheelchair got stuck in a deep crack on the tarmac and lost balance and she fell off her wheelchair," the spokesperson said. Brand baj gaya? With all these incidents making it to news, IndiGo sure is having a tough time handling the brand image. Only time, and statistics, will tell if the airline manages to pass the test of time (and the alleged unruly behaviour of its staff)! --- ENDS --- advertisement Canberra's Catholic Archbishop has backed calls for hardline laws to allow businesses and individuals to refuse service for same-sex weddings because of religious and moral objections. Archbishop Christopher Prowse said he was disappointed by Wednesday's same-sex marriage survey results but respected the outcome and acknowledged overwhelming support for changes to the law by Canberrans. Catholic Archbishop of Canberra and Goulburn, Christopher Prowse. Credit:Katherine Griffiths "The priority now is for a comprehensive undertaking by the government to bring in legislation that really does cater for a not insignificant amount of people who will find this very difficult to follow through," he said. "I am thinking of those with religious objections - other than marriage celebrants - and I'm thinking of non-religious objections, people who have freedom on conscious there." The revelation that most Australians supported same-sex marriage is a national watershed moment, says Queensland's first openly gay politician, federal MP Trevor Evans. Now he hopes same-sex reform is approved by federal Parliament before Christmas. Liberal MPs Trevor Evans, Trent Zimmerman, Kelly O'Dwyer and Tim Wilson celebrate the result of the same-sex marriage postal survey at Parliament House in Canberra. Credit:AAP This is national watershed moment, Mr Evans said, applauding the 80 per cent turnout of Australians who voted. Its a process that Australians will be able to own; to be able to say that we helped in making equality a reality, he said. In the dying days of campaigning over same sex marriage in Australia, the figures were looking good for the Yes movement. In recent weeks four national polls had predicted they would win between 60 and 65 per cent of the vote. In an ominous sign for the No campaign, its champion, Tony Abbott, was already doing his best to move the goalposts, declaring that if his cause won 40 percent of the vote it would be a "moral victory". And then there was the turnout. Around 80 per cent of eligible voters returned their ballots. According to Tiernan Brady, director of Australian Marriage Equality, this is a higher turnout than for practically any voluntary ballot measure undertaken in a Western democracy in modern history. His research suggests it is beaten only by the Scottish referendum on remaining in the United Kingdom and a similar measure in Quebec, Canada. Just 60 per cent voted in the Irish referendum that legalised gay marriage in 2015, the Brexit vote a year later attracted a 72 per cent turnout. "Love has had a landslide victory," declared Alex Greenwich, co-chair of the Equality Campaign, from a public gathering in Sydney, where John Paul Young's classic Love Is In The Air was played. "Getting to this point has not been easy, but rarely in your life can you celebrate with such pride overcoming adversity to make history." Mr Greenwich said the campaign's support and momentum had exceeded all expectations, and the result had delivered "an unequivocal mandate" for politicians to vote through the change by the end of the year. Every state and territory voted "yes" by more than 60 per cent except for NSW, where the "yes" vote was 57.8 per cent, and the "no" vote was 42.2 per cent. The ACT had the highest "yes" vote in the country at 74 per cent, followed by Victoria at 64.9 per cent. Mr Turnbull, speaking shortly after the results were announced, heralded the "overwhelming" support Australians had expressed for same-sex marriage. "They voted 'yes' for fairness, they voted 'yes' for commitment, they voted 'yes' for love," he said. "It is unequivocal, it is overwhelming. "And now it is up to us, here in the Parliament of Australia, to get on with it - to get on with the job the Australian people have tasked us to do, and get this done this year, before Christmas. That must be our commitment." The PM's electorate of Wentworth, in inner-city Sydney, recorded one of the highest "yes" votes in the country at 80.8 per cent. The results surpassed the expectations of many "yes" advocates in the government, who were eyeing a figure of 55 to 60 per cent. It almost matched the 62 per cent recorded at the Irish referendum on same-sex marriage in 2015. Gay Liberal senator Dean Smith, who spearheaded action for same-sex marriage within the Coalition but opposed the public vote, declared it "the most important electoral mandate" Australia had ever seen. "This is by any and every measure a huge democratic achievement for our country," he said. "I have never been more proud to stand up and represent Australian people than I was this morning when I listened to that result." Gay Labor frontbencher Penny Wong, who pushed her own party to change its position on same-sex marriage, was hugged by colleagues in a room in Parliament House as they watched the results announcement. Later, she thanked Australians for their "resounding" verdict and spoke of how difficult the public vote had been for the LGBTI community. "I hope from this you can take a message of solidarity, of support, of decency from your fellow Australians," Senator Wong said. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, speaking to a jubilant crowd in Melbourne, said the emphatic verdict was "not just good for marriage equality" but showed "Australians have voted for a generous view of themselves, for a modern Australia, where diversity is accepted, supported and respected. "Today we celebrate, tomorrow we legislate." The de facto leader of the "no" campaign, Australian Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton, conceded defeat and said he accepted the democratic decision of the Australian people. But he said "in a democracy, no question is ever completely closed", and held out hope of one day changing Australians' minds and redefining marriage as being between a man and a woman. "There may be a time in the future when we can persuade our fellow Australians to that position once again," Mr Shelton said. Loading Florists, photographers and wedding celebrants are among the army of small businesses set to enjoy a billion-dollar plus boost when tens of thousands of same sex couples are finally allowed to walk down the aisle. According to ANZ senior economist Cherelle Murphy, the economic benefits of marriage equality related to weddings alone would be $650 million in the first 12 months. That is a conservative estimate, assuming only half the gay couples who want to wed manage to do so within 12 months. According to the 2016 Census, there were nearly 47,000 same-sex couples living together in Australia. A close ally of Tony Abbott is poised to take up a Senate seat after the High Court ruled disability advocate Hollie Hughes ineligible to replace former cabinet minister Fiona Nash. Experts say the ruling also puts fresh doubt over the eligibility of new Greens senator Andrew Bartlett and Jacqui Lambie's anointed replacement, Tasmanian mayor Steve Martin. Retired major general Jim Molan Credit:Jeffrey Chan The court disqualified Ms Hughes under section 44 of the constitution because she held an "office for profit under the crown": a government-paid job with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Attorney-General George Brandis appointed Ms Hughes to the tribunal after she failed to win a seat at last year's election. Ms Hughes resigned the seat within an hour of the High Court ruling that knocked out Ms Nash, but that was not enough to protect her from the section 44 wrecking ball. New laws to recognise Torres Strait Island families' use of traditional adoption would be introduced under a re-elected Labor government. For generations, Torres Strait Islanders have supported their children and each other with traditional parenting approaches known more recently as "Kupai Omasker". Torres Strait Regional Council CEO Bruce Ranga, Candidate for Cook Cynthia Lui, Ministerial Champion for the Torres Strait Shannon Fentiman MP, Aunty Ivy Trevallion, Aunty Rose Elu and Torres Strait Island mayor Fred Gela at the press conference on Wednesday. Under the practice, children can be given to other members of the community for a range of reasons, including the maintenance of family inheritance rights, provide an infertile couple with the opportunity to raise a child, strengthen alliances or distribute children of different sexes more fairly. Their guardianship can be transferred to other members of the community, typically extended family. London: In a remarkable one-two punch aimed at Russian hackers, bots and trolls, the prime ministers of Britain and Spain have separately accused Russian entities - including some allegedly supported by the state - of meddling in European elections and have vowed to foil them. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday that an "avalanche" of bots spread "fake news" about Spain during Catalonia's independence referendum last month and that Spanish authorities think that more than half of the originating accounts are in Russian territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, told and US President Donald Trump Russia did not meddled in the US elections. Credit:AP British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday night charged that President Vladimir Putin's Russia was attempting to "undermine free societies" and "sow discord" in Britain and among its Western allies by "deploying its state-run media organisations to plant fake stories." "So I have a very simple message for Russia," May said. "We know what you are doing. And you will not succeed." Representative Sheila Jackson Lee questions Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Credit:AP Separately, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page testified before the House Intelligence Committee recently that he had told Sessions of his plans to travel to Moscow. Democrats questioned Sessions about his dealings with both men, noting that their accounts were out of sync with what Sessions had said previously and that his account of Russia-related matters had shifted multiple times. Attorney General Jeff Sessions pauses as he testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. Credit:AP "I hope the attorney general can provide some clarification on this problem in his remarks today," said Democrat Representative John Conyers. The hearing at times grew heated, as Sessions insisted that he had "always told the truth" and bristled at the suggestion that he had ever misled legislators or the public. He said his memory had been refreshed by news accounts and asserted that he still did not recall his conversation with Page - though he added that he was "not able to dispute it." Page has also said the interaction was brief and forgettable, as he was not traveling to Moscow for the campaign. "Does that establish some sort of improper contact with the Russians?" Sessions rhetorically asked Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York. The hearing was Sessions' first appearance before the House Judiciary Committee, and it came as the attorney-general found himself a key figure in several major news events. A day earlier, the US Justice Department sent a letter to committee chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican, saying Sessions had directed senior federal prosecutors to explore whether a second special counsel should be appointed to look into a host of GOP concerns - possibly including alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation and the controversial sale of a uranium company to Russia. Under critical questioning from Republican Jim Jordan, Sessions said he would need a "factual basis" to appoint a special counsel and remarked that Jordan's assertions about how things appeared were "not enough basis" to do so. But he later clarified that he "did not mean to suggest that I was taking a side one way or the other on that subject." The mere suggestion of appointing a special counsel to investigate Clinton-related matters drew swift condemnation from Democratic lawmakers, though some commentators said Sessions seemed to be trying simply to mollify conservatives by floating the idea of a second special counsel without actually installing one. Conyers sought to highlight that Trump had publicly pressed the Justice Department to investigate Clinton-related matters, noting, "What strikes me about these comments is the president's view that the criminal justice system serves him and not the public." Sessions, though, disputed that he had been inappropriately pushed to do anything. "I have not been improperly influenced and would not be improperly influenced," he said. Sessions has said previously that he would recuse himself from any Justice Department investigations of Clinton's email practices or her family's charitable foundation - mindful that his past public comments "could place my objectivity in question." Sessions was also pressed Tuesday to answer questions about the conduct of Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who is running to fill the seat Sessions once held. Asked by Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee if he believes the women who have accused Moore of sexual misconduct, Sessions replied, "I have no reason to doubt these young women." On Monday, an Alabama woman accused Moore of sexually assaulting her in the late 1970s, when she was 16 years old. That followed a report last week in The Washington Post detailing allegations that Moore initiated a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old girl when he was 32. Moore has denied the allegations. Sessions also revealed Tuesday that the Justice Department has 27 open leak investigations, including some that started before Trump took office, compared with nine such inquiries in the latter years of the Obama administration. And he said he still needs to follow through on a request from senators for information on the steps he's taken to protect US elections from foreign interference. The main focus of the hearing, though, was Russia and the several occasions on which Sessions's account of the topic has changed. At his January confirmation hearing to be attorney-general, Sessions said he "did not have communications with the Russians" during the campaign. When The Post later revealed that he had twice spoken with Russia's ambassador to the United States, he revised his account, saying that he had no meetings with Russians "to discuss issues of the campaign." The Post reported in July that Russia's U.S. ambassador told his superiors that he and Sessions discussed campaign-related matters, including policy issues important to Moscow. And at an October appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sessions seemed to shift his position again. That time, he said he had conducted no "improper discussions with Russians at any time regarding a campaign or any other item facing this country," although he acknowledged that it was possible in one of his conversations that "some comment was made about what Trump's positions were." Several Democratic legislators highlighted the evolving statements, and at one point, an exasperated Sessions exclaimed, "I certainly didn't mean I hadn't met a Russian in my life." Jeffries asserted that Sessions had previously criticised Clinton for her lack of recall during an FBI interview and said intentionally forgetting might be criminal. "Do you still believe that the intentional failure to remember can constitute a criminal act?" Jeffries asked. By PTI: Ivanka visit New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Ahead of the India visit of US President Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today that cooperation between the two countries helps people, particularly the talented and innovative entrepreneurs. "We look forward to welcoming you @IvankaTrump. Closer economic cooperation between India and USA helps our people, particularly our talented and innovative entrepreneurs," he tweeted. advertisement Earlier, Ivanka had tweeted that she is excited to join "many of these remarkable entrepreneurs with Prime Minister @narendramodi in India for #GES2017 in just two weeks!". She will be attending the plenary session of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) to be held in Hyderabad from November 28 to 30. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held "very expansive" talks with Trump in Manila during which the two leaders carried out a "broad review" of the strategic landscape in Asia. PTI NAB ASK ASK --- ENDS --- London: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May says she hopes Australia will swiftly legislate gay marriage as Tory MPs dismissed fears it would undermine religion, citing England's own experience in introducing the change three years ago. Same-sex marriage has been legal in England and Wales since 2014 after it was introduced the year prior by the conservative government led by David Cameron. Shortly after the result was announced, Mr Cameron said he was delighted Australia was following Britain's lead. "I'm incredibly proud of legalising same sex marriage in the UK and delighted that other countries are looking to do the same," the former prime minister said in a tweet. "G'day Australia!" London: Scotland has won the right to be the first country in the world to tackle alcohol abuse by setting a minimum price on booze. The Scottish parliament passed a law five years ago ruling that no alcohol could be sold below a price determined by its alcohol content proposed at 50p per unit. A distillery staff member works on a whisky barrel in Scotland, which has become the first country to set a minimum price on booze. Credit:AP The law was left unenforced, however, while the Scotch Whisky Association and two Belgian wine and spirit groups fought against it in the UK Supreme Court, saying it was inconsistent with European trade rules. They argued it would have an unfair effect on imports and was a barrier to free trade and a disproportionate and unnecessary method to protect people's health. The number of professional job vacancies in Ireland decreased by 2% in October compared to the same month a year ago, but were up 9% sequentially since September. This is according to the latest Morgan McKinley Ireland Monthly Employment Monitor. The monitor measures the pulse of the Irish professional jobs market by tracking the number of new job vacancies and new candidates within the Republic of Ireland each month. According to the monitor, October was also a record month in terms of jobs announcements with a healthy variety of career opportunities on offer across financial services, pharmaceutical, science, biotech, supply chain management and operations. The sales and marketing sector is also vibrant. Morgan McKinley believes Ireland is at the forefront of an evolution where technology is converged with multiple economic and industrial certain sectors. As a result, sectors like Fintech, Agtech and now Sportstech are creating new opportunities for ICT and digital professionals across the economy. The figures show that FDI interest in Ireland is consistently strong and this isnt simply the preserve of US multinationals. The monitor shows that Ireland is seeing an inflow of European based companies who are considering Ireland due to the talent pool in certain sectors, notably ICT. Companies who have arrived in Ireland have expressed satisfaction at the quality and availability of skills in the market place here. Skillsets such as Artificial Intelligence, cloud management, robotics and engineering are much in demand. Morgan McKinley say this is balanced with available skills and returning skills from Ireland's emigrant community where offices abroad are being used to highlight opportunities to the Irish diaspora. This also feeds from the education system which is supporting a continual pipeline of relevant talent and availability of graduates who are job ready within the marketplace. Speaking this week, Morgan McKinley Ireland, Director of Inward Investment, Trayc Keevans said, "The professional jobs market remains buoyant. Historically, we would have seen a slow down towards the Christmas period but what were actually seeing is a lot more jobs opening up now with a view to them being filled before Christmas. Professional job seekers are of the same view with an increased willingness to consider onward career development opportunities, despite the time of year. There will be significant levels of activity between now and Christmas and into the New Year." Source: www.businessworld.ie Ryanair is to increase the number of pilots it employs directly and hire more staff to respond to their queries as part of a new programme to improve its pilot management, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The airline in September cancelled 20,000 flights, saying rostering problems had left it without enough standby pilots to operate without significant delays. The resulting wave of passenger outrage threatened to undo the success of its 'Always Getting Better' customer service drive. Europe's largest airline by passenger numbers has responded by promising pilots improved pay and conditions, which it says exceed those offered by rivals. In the memo, Chief People Officer Eddie Wilson said almost 20 of Ryanair's 86 bases had voted for the pay deal as of Friday. However, a number of bases, including its largest hub at London Stansted, have rejected the offer. Some pilots have been using September's rostering issue to press for better conditions and the creation of a pan-European representative body; Ryanair has long opposed recognising unions. Ryanair said in the memo sent on Friday that it would "dramatically increase" the number of pilots employed directly rather than by outside agencies; over 180 first officers would be offered Ryanaircontracts in November, and 300 more offers would be made by December. It also said it had hired 1,040 new pilots this year, with the newest entrants receiving the better pay terms, and that it expected another 400 to join by March, bringing its crewing ratio to 11.0 pilots per aircraft from 10.5 by the time the busy European summer schedule begins. A new crew control mobile phone app has also been introduced to speed up the logging of absences, and the memo says Ryanair will double the number of base managers to eight in the weeks ahead to "respond even faster to even more pilot queries". "We have launched an Always Flying Better (AFB) programme to fill the infrastructure gaps in pilot communications, admin support and effective structures for resolving pilot queries," Wilson said. Wilson also said a problem with allocated leave for December had caused inconvenience to a small number of pilots. Some pilots have said that a significant number of their colleagues have reported being assigned annual leave days without consultation. Asked for more detail, a spokesman said Ryanair did not comment on its internal communications, or its direct engagement with staff. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie British Prime Minister Theresa May's blueprint to leave the European Union emerged unscathed on Tuesday from a first day of debate in parliament on legislation to sever ties with the bloc. The debate, expected to last for weeks, is on the EU withdrawal bill, seen by May as crucial to give companies confidence that there will be no major legal changes that affect business when Britain leaves the EU in March 2019. Opponents want to use the debate to force concessions on May's plan for leaving the bloc, but the initial challenges - including on the hour and day Britain should pull out as well as on the future role of the EU court - were voted down or dropped. The prime minister will face tougher battles as the debate goes on, testing her ability to steer through a bill intended largely to "copy and paste" European rules and regulations into British law by the time it leaves the 28-member EU. Her absence from parliament on Tuesday due to other engagements suggested she was not unduly worried by the initial discussion. But the debate's ill-tempered tone showed the level of anger in parliament with a government which some lawmakers say is mounting a power grab to force through its plans. With catcalls, sarcastic jokes and jeers being bandied about - not just between the two main parties, as is the custom, but often within them - many of the divisions before Britain voted in June 2016 to leave the EU re-emerged. "You're a disgrace," one Conservative lawmaker yelled at another, while a Labour member of parliament openly quarreled with his colleagues in the main opposition party over which way their supporters voted in last year's referendum. Anna Soubry, a Conservative lawmaker, went on to criticize the "bullying" tactics of the Telegraph newspaper, who published the names of those politicians in May's party who voted against the government on the exact timing of Brexit. Behind the debate was the fear of pro-Brexit lawmakers that Britain may never leave the EU, and of pro-EU lawmakers who are worried Britain might crash out of the EU without a deal. The debates go to the heart of what parliament calls "one of the largest legislative projects ever undertaken in the UK," a process that could undermine May's already fragile authority. May, 61, has lost two ministers to scandals and her foreign minister, Boris Johnson, is facing calls to resign over remarks he made about a jailed Iranian-British aid worker in Iran. The Sunday Times has reported that 40 Conservatives support a no-confidence vote. May's Conservative government depends on a small Northern Irish party for its majority since a June election which dented her authority, and many lawmakers - even some Conservatives - will use the debate to increase pressure. The prime minister has tried to ease tensions by offering lawmakers some concessions on the bill before the debate began. But her moves have not yet eased everyone's concerns. One of her lawmakers, pro-EU Ken Clarke, ended his speech by saying: "I am a rebel." (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie NetEase hopes to hit its latest cross-border e-commerce target by increasing the number of American brands sold on its Kaola website to around 3,000 by 2020. Currently, the platform sells goods from about 900 American brands. Photo: Visual China Internet giant NetEase Inc. said it expects to purchase $3 billion worth of products from U.S. brands over the next three years, tapping growing demand from Chinese e-commerce buyers who prefer overseas goods to avoid safety and counterfeit issues often associated with local competitors. Chinas domestic e-commerce market is currently dominated by two companies, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and JD.com Inc., which control the lions share of sales. But cross-border e-commerce is less developed and more contested, leading domestic players like NetEase and global giants like Amazon.com Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to vie more aggressively for a place at the table. At the same time, a new generation of middle-class Chinese are increasingly opting for such offshore products in the wake of food safety and counterfeiting scandals at home. NetEase, better known as Chinas No. 2 online game operator, said it will achieve its latest cross-border e-commerce target using its Kaola platform that specializes in such imports. The company is planning a major push for American brands on the site, aiming to raise the number to around 3,000 from the current 900 by 2020. As Chinese consumers become increasingly sophisticated, their focus has shifted from pricing concerns to a search for high-quality and reliable brands, as well as an enhanced and tailored user experience, said Kaola CEO Lily Zhang. With our unique insights into the needs of our customers, who are largely well-educated young women living in Chinas major cities, we believe that we will be able to help them discover the exclusive American brands that speak to their individual style. To facilitate the anticipated big boost in imports to China, NetEase said it is building a new warehousing facility in the U.S. state of New Jersey, complementing its three existing ones in the New York City and Los Angeles areas. NetEase added Kaola targets higher-end buyers, with per-customer transaction value more than twice the average for Chinas cross-border e-commerce sector. The latest announcement comes about half a year after Kaola announced a similar target of buying 3 billion euros ($3.5 billion) worth of European products over the next three years. After getting marginalized in domestic e-commerce by Alibaba and JD.com, Amazon has also found more recent success with cross-border business. The U.S. e-commerce giant boasts a respectable 6.6% share for that segment of Chinas e-commerce market, placing it sixth behind Alibaba, whose imported-goods business controls about 19%, according to data released earlier this year by Analysys International. Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) Asian Development Bank Vice President Diwaker Gupta told Caixin that "the demand for infrastructure in emerging Asia and the Pacific is so huge, that we do not see any conflict of interest with other multilateral development banks including the AIIB, in growing our business." Photo: IC (Danang, Vietnam) Since China led the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in 2015, there has been discussion about its possible competition with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which since its founding in 1966 has been led to a significant extent by the U.S. and Japan. Diwakar Gupta, ADB vice president, said the Asia-Pacifics demand for infrastructure is huge, and there is no conflict between the AIIB and the ADB in meeting this demand. The two banks have cooperated with each other in some projects, Gupta told Caixin in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Da Nang, Vietnam last week. Gupta also said the ADB would like to cooperate with China on its Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to drive economic development through infrastructure investment. An ADB report released earlier this year said $26 trillion will be needed to meet infrastructure demand in the Asia-Pacific between 2016 and 2030. Caixin: Demand for infrastructure construction in Asia is huge. The ADB has cooperation projects with the AIIB in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Georgia. When it comes to competition, in what ways will these two organizations compete? How can we ensure healthy competition? Diwakar Gupta: Thank you, that is a very interesting and relevant question. We in the ADB promote efficient markets in all of our DMCs (developing member countries), including healthy competition. We live by that principle, and therefore also welcome competition with our own activities. That said, the demand for infrastructure in emerging Asia and the Pacific is so huge, that we do not see any conflict of interest with other multilateral development banks including the AIIB, in growing our business. In fact, there is (a) wide scope to collaborate and exchange knowledge, which will be to the overall benefit of our clients in the DMCs. I see that the ADB and AIIB will, in fact, complement each other by increasing joint interventions, which is already evidenced (by) four ADB-AIIB co-financed projects. Caixin: The ADB has provided $34 billion in loans to China over the last 30 years. Although the gap between rich and poor in China is still large, and there are still weaknesses in the areas like pollution control, the economy has developed. Will the ADB change how it supports China in the near future? Gupta: The Peoples Republic of China is one of ADBs key stakeholders, and (is) indeed (a) recipient of support, both in terms of sovereign and non-sovereign interventions, and knowledge. You mention pollution control, so I would like to mention that we have in recent years had very good cooperation with both the government of (the) PRC as well as important private sector clients and SOEs to support important initiatives in climate change mitigation and adaptation. I can mention the $500 million ADB funding for the Green Financing Platform with the China National Investment and Guaranty Corporation to promote air pollution-reduction investments in the greater Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (region); investments in agricultural waste-to-energy and renewables projects; funding for 5,000 low-emission buses running on cleaner fuel including natural gas; as well as electric and hybrid buses. ADBs Country Partnership Strategy with the PRC has five pillars: managing climate change and the environment; promoting regional cooperation and integration; supporting inclusive economic growth; fostering knowledge cooperation; and supporting institutional and governance reform. We have a very strong pipeline of projects for both our sovereign and non-sovereign operations to support this in the years to come. Caixin: What's the ADB's plan toward China's Belt and Road initiative? Gupta: As I briefly discussed earlier, the infrastructure funding gap in Asia and (the) Pacific is enormous, at an estimated $1.7 trillion per year. This, naturally, is way beyond (the) ADBs capacity, so we welcome any and all initiatives that are directed toward providing sustainable infrastructure solutions with a positive development impact in our DMCs. While (the) ADB is intervening in many sectors and themes, fundamentally, we are an infrastructure bank with around 70% of our portfolio directed toward infrastructure projects and policies. Moreover, regional cooperation and integration is one of (the) ADBs strategic core areas of operations, so we will be happy to work with partners active in this space. Caixin: The ADB has agreed to provide a loan to China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation Microfinance Management which will be used for microfinance operations in poverty-stricken areas in China. Nowadays, online microloans are quite popular. Does the ADB have any plan to use new technologies in the areas of lending and poverty alleviation? Gupta: Yes, that is a very good project, which we are both proud of and have high hopes for. We are seeing a very exciting and dramatic shift in the technological environment these days, spearheaded by the finance sector. The ADB has keen interest in new technologies, including blockchain, digital and biometric identity, electronic payments, mobile transactions, etc. While it is still early days, we believe that the fintech developments have the power to transform access to financial products to the large, unbanked part of the population in our DMCs, with significant development impact. I am personally from India, so I like to use as an example the very significant impact of the implementation of the Aadhaar biometric identification system as part of this scheme, almost 300 million bank accounts have been opened under the associated Jan Dhan-Aadhaar and mobile number trinity, which has led to a significant reduction in the cost of transferring money, and government subsidies can now be linked directly to an individual, eradicating leakages. Caixin: You worked for the State Bank of India for many years, what has been the impact of that experience on your current work? Gupta: SBI is India's largest bank, accounting for a quarter of the country's banking activity, with a significant presence across the entire gamut of financial services. My four decade-long experience with the various business verticals of SBI has been a great asset for me in grasping the nuances of the ADBs role, and settling down quickly. A man from Indore has claimed no man's land and has declared it as his kingdom which he plans to rule online from India. Over 800 people have already signed up to be citizens of his kingdom. By Iram Ara Ibrahim, India Today Web Desk: While many struggle to have a home of their own, this man from Indore has claimed a piece of land as his kingdom. There is a no man's land claimed by Suyash Dixit from Indore when he declared himself to be the king of an 800-square-mile strip of land separating Egypt and Sudan. advertisement He plans to rule his Kingdom of Dixit online from India. via GIPHY "I, Suyash Dixit, first of my name and the protector of the realm, declare myself as the king of "Kingdom of Dixit," he wrote in a Facebook post. Suyash Dixit, who is the CEO of an IT company is also a travel enthusiast who took his passion to another level altogether when he researched about the 800-square-mile strip of land separating Egypt and Sudan. Legally, a person cannot claim land out of his will. However, the 800-sqaure-mile strip became Suyash's own paradise for quite some time as he opted for some humour and claimed the no man's land. Photo: Facebook - @Suyash Dixit Photo: Facebook - @Suyash Dixit Bitten by the travel bug, the young lad took two days to plan the trip and convinced a local driver to take him to the spot as well. "I call myself, King Suyash First from today. I declare this unclaimed land of Bir Tawil as my country from now to the eternity of time. I pledge to continue to work for the prosperity of my people of the country and this motherland," he wrote in his Facebook post. Photo: Facebook - @Suyash Dixit "The route that I took is under Egyptian military (it is an international border) and is an area of terrorists so military have 'shoot at sight' orders," he wrote. "But, if your Bucket List ideas are not scary enough then they are not worth trying! You need permissions to even enter the route to this place. We [had] three conditions; no photos of military areas, be back in a single day and no valuables," read the Facebook post. Photo: Facebook - @Suyash Dixit Upon reaching the spot, Suyash planted seeds and a flag to establish the "no man's land" as his territory and himself to be the ruler of it. "I am the king! This is no joke, I own a country now." Suyash, is by no means the first person to do so but according to some misguided sense of kingship, he now owns a kingdom --- ENDS --- advertisement If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,... Lafarge Maldives celebrates 8 years zero lost time injuries 15 November 2017 Lafarge Maldives has reached an important milestone on 22 September 2017, celebrating eight consecutive years of zero lost time injuries. At Lafarge Maldives, employees aim to conduct their business with zero harm and create a healthy and safe environment for all stakeholders. Lafarge Maldives Cement has actively participated in Occupational Safety & Health Conference 2017, organised by State Trading Organization (STO) along with Maldives Association of Construction Industry (MACI) to mark the world day for health and safety. Furthermore, to contribute to their effort in health and safety among the public Lafarge Maldives Cement has conducted road safety awareness programmes in Male City. Published under Fancesa plans to export to Paraguay and Argentina ICR Newsroom By 15 November 2017 Following expansion of its Santa Cruz plant, Bolivian cement producer Fabrica Nacional de Cemento SA (Fancesa) has signalled the intent to export cement to Paraguay and Argentina, contradicting earlier plans by the company. "We can not just think about the markets of Santa Cruz or the country, we must expand and reach Paraguay, the north of Argentina, it will be beneficial for the company," Rivero said. The company expects to be able to send its first shipment to Paraguay in the coming weeks, said Eduardo Rivero, the plant manager said. "We only need a negotiation with the authorities of Paraguay and the City Council so that FANCESA can enter with the first shipment of cement by ship," he said. Published under Iran-Ghanaian joint venture starts construction of new 0.6Mta cement factory ICR Newsroom By 15 November 2017 A 0.6Mta cement factory is being set up as a a joint venture between Ghana and Iran, at the Dawa Industrial Enclave, on the Tema-Aflao road, Ghana. The US$30m Ilam Cement factory is expected to be completed in two years. Ghana's Vice President, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, was at the ceremony that marked the start of the construction. Iran owns 90 per cent shares in the project with Ghana owning the rest. An MoU was signed earlier this year between Ghana and Iran when the Dr Bawumia visited the country during the inauguration of Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani. Dr Bawumia said the project, which reflects the economic dimension of the relations between Iran and Ghana, would boost the nation's infrastructural drive, create jobs and help make the price of cement competitive. Published under All votes in the CO-3 election won't be counted until the end of this week An audio clip urging Muslims to attack non-Muslims by attacking the Kumbh Mela and Thrissur Pooram in a US like attack is circulating on social media in Kerala. By India Today Web Desk: An audio clip spreading calling for an attack on non-Muslims is doing the rounds in WhatsApp groups in Kerala. The clip, allegedly said to be that of ISIS fighters, is said to have been leaked from a secret chat group of ISIS sympathisers. According to sources, the voice in the clip is that of Abdul Rasheed Abdullah. Abdul hails from Kasargod and is said to lead the Bahrain faction of ISIS. advertisement The clip begins by saying that it is the 50th message from the Islamic State for people in Kerala and real Muslims must do hijrat (migrate) to the Islamic State. The clip further says that if the authorities do not allow the Muslims from doing hijrat then they must support the ISIS' fight by providing them financial support. The clip goes on to say that those Muslims who cannot afford to help the ISIS financially should do Jihad in their respective region. "You can poison them, ram trucks into their gatherings including festivals like Thrissur Pooram or Kumbh Mela. You can even use a knife, rifle or pistols to shoot them down like one of our friends did in USA," the voice can be heard saying. It further instigates the Muslims to either derail a train so that some Kafirs die. The matter is under investigation by the Kerala police which has collected over 300 voice clip from Whatsapp and Telegram messenger and is looking into the matter. --- ENDS --- Jack Phillips, the Christian bakery-owner from Colorado whose case will be heard before the U.S. Supreme Court next month, is not only receiving support from many Christians, but also from many in the gay community, according to The Christian Post. As ChristianHeadlines.com has previously reported, Phillips case, Masterpiece Cakeshop vs. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, began when Phillips declined to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, citing his religious beliefs. Phillips initially lost his case with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, but won an appeal to bring his case before the Supreme Court. Many Christians and conservatives have spoken out in support of Phillips religious freedom rights, but some members of the gay community also support Phillips. "I'm TJ, and I'm Matt, we're gay and we're here to support Jack Phillips...to buy stuff from him, and support him because we don't think any artist should be forced to create for something that violates their beliefs," say two men in a video posted to Facebook by Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal firm defending Phillips. "Creating space for Jack to live out his convictions shows what a pluralistic society should look like. It would demonstrate what it means to have the freedom to disagree yet to be tolerant amidst those disagreements," wrote Kristen K. Waggoner, general counsel and senior vice president of U.S. legal advocacy at ADF. Waggoner continued: "That is why so many supporters of same-sex marriage filed briefs supporting Jack before the Supreme Court. It's also why Jack has had so many customers tell him that even though they disagree with him on marriage, they support his right to live out who he is. They understand that if we want freedom for ourselves, we must extend it to others." Oral arguments in Phillips case are scheduled for December 5, 2017. Photo: In this March 10, 2014 photo, Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Jack Phillips decorates a cake inside his store in Lakewood, Colo. Phillips is appealing a recent ruling against him in a legal complaint filed with the Colorado Civil Rights Commission by a gay couple who sought a wedding cake from him after he refused, based on his religious beliefs. Photo courtesy: AP/Brennan Linsley via Religion News Service Publication date: November 15, 2017 CNN reports that, early on Tuesday morning, a 60-year-old man was mysteriously shot and killed while crossing the street in a neighborhood in Tampa, Florida. Police believe this murder is linked to three other unsolved killings that occurred in the same area within the last several weeks. Tampa mayor, Bob Buckhorn, explains that all three killings happened within a ten-to-fifteen block area. All three previous killings happened back in October within eleven days of each other. Two of the first three victims were in their early 20s. One was in her early 30s. Like the previous three victims, the man killed Tuesday was walking alone at the time of the shooting. Although witnesses have provided general descriptions of the suspect and police have released grainy footage of the suspect, officials dont know who the shooter is. However, according to the CNN article, Police said they believe the suspect also lives in the same neighborhood as the shootings. After the first killings, police urged residents of the neighborhood to not walk alone at night. The city has even taken steps to avoid another death, cutting undergrowth, clearing alleys, and adding street lights, according to the mayor. Police Chief Brian Dugan explained that Tuesdays killing was the most bold of the four, having taken place on a major street that was well-lit. Although the officials who arrived on the scene searched the possible hiding spaces in the area, they were unable to find the suspect and are now in a bit of a stalemate. Mayor Buckhorn expressed his frustration in the officials inability to track down the murderer, saying, Its infuriating. We have a neighborhood that's been held hostage. We have good folks living in this community that are scared to death. Weve been in here for the last month. You couldnt go 100 yards without being stopped by an officer. Leah Hickman is a 2017 graduate of Hillsdale Colleges English program. She has written pieces for multiple Hillsdale College campus publications as well as for BreakPoint.org, ChristianAnswers.net/Spotlight, and the Discover Laura Blog. Read more by Leah at aworldofgrasspeople.blogspot.com. Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/kenhl Publication date: November 15, 2017 Roy Moore appeared at a church Wednesday night as he deals with allegations that he preyed on teenage girls when he was an assistant district attorney in the late 1970s. Speaking at a God Save America revival at Walker Springs Road Baptist Church in Jackson, the Alabama Senate Candidate received a standing ovation as he entered the room. Moore joked that he is the only person who can unite Republicans and Democrats, saying that they are united in their opposition to his candidacy. He continued, Now they are together to try to keep me from going to Washington. And why? It has a lot to do with what we are talking about tonight. We want our country to be saved by God. He said his opponents have spent $30 million trying to take me out. Moore faces mounting pressure to end his candidacy. Both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speak Paul Ryan have announced their desire for Moore to step aside. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, McConnell discussed what he thinks the options are to replace Moore. It appears as if the only option would be a write-in candidate and thats very seldom successful, although weve had an example of it in 2010 Lisa Murkowski from Alaska lost the primary, ran a write-in campaign in the general election and actually won. I think the last person to do that was Strom Thurmond in the 50s. So, why did she win? She was totally well-known and extremely popular. And the name being the most often discussed may not be available, but the Alabamian who would fit that standard would be the Attorney General, who is totally well-known and extremely popular in Alabama. That obviously would be a big move for him and for the President. ...Im confident this is an issue theyre discussing in great detail. FoxNews host Sean Hannity discussed Moore on his show Wednesday night, citing the inconsistencies in his responses to the allegations. Then Hannity drew a line in the sand, saying that Moore needs to give a coherent explanation to the charges in the next 24 hours. You must immediately and fully come up with a satisfactory explanation for your inconsistencies. You must remove any doubt. If he cant do this, then Judge Moore needs to get out of this race. The allegations did not dampen Moores reception at the church. Moore spoke for about 30 minutes after a sermon and singing from a youth choir. He didnt directly address the allegations, but alluded to them multiple times. He talked about religious liberty and encouraged the congregation to stand for what they know to be right. The churchs pastor, Rev. David Webb, addressed why many evangelicals continue to support Moore even after the revelations about his alleged behavior came to light. In America, you are innocent until proven guilty. Why would you change that? He stood for faith and God and the Bible since hes been in office and hes paid a price for it. His character over the last 20 years, its been unblemished. Thats why hes popular among Christians. Hes living what we believe. Photo courtesy: Wkimedia Commons Publication date: November 15, 2017 Australian Christian Lobby vows to fight on after same-sex marriage vote defeat The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) has declared defiantly that the 61.6 per cent majority vote in favour of same sex marriage merely represents 'the beginning of a new phase' in campaigning 'to bring Christ's influence into politics'. Lyle Shelton, managing director of the ACL wrote of his 'hope' despite the decisive postal referendum, and said that defenders of traditional marriage must now 'speak more, not less'. 'It's a disappointing day. And sometimes as Christians we find ourselves in a season of Lament,' he wrote in a blog post. But, he added: 'The Christian view of lament is never without hope. We recognise the reality of our situation but we move forward in hope because we serve the living God. 'Despite today's loss in the marriage plebiscite, there is hope and there is much that we can take out of this campaign. 'Almost five million Australians voted No and at least one million of those were Yes voters who were persuaded by our campaign to vote No. That is a heroic effort.' Shelton continued: 'Despite our loss today, you are not alone you are part of a large movement of Australians who will always believe the truth about marriage. 'The challenge is what to do now. In many ways, not much changes. We continue to build a movement of Christians seeking to bring Christ's influence into politics. 'In addition, the Coalition for Marriage team, of which ACL is a part, is determined that this is not the end but the beginning of a new phase. Our amazing volunteers, having had a taste of grassroots political activism, want to keep going. We were inspired this afternoon to be on a phone hook-up with key volunteers from around the country. The clear message from them was "we want to keep going".' Shelton added that his side lost the vote because of weakness in the face of pro-gay campaigners 'relentlessly' promoting their cause. 'We lost today because too many of us and our leaders have not been participating in public debates for far too long,' he said. 'The other side have been relentlessly using the tools of democracy to advance their cause for more than ten years. These tools are available to us if only we would use them (present company excepted). It was always going to be difficult for us to catch up even in a three-month-long postal survey. Going forward, things must change, we must speak more, not less.' He concluded: 'The shape of the nation we leave to our children and grandchildren depends on what we do together next.' Donald Trump news: US President focuses on fair trade and passing of tax bill United States President Donald Trump is happy about his participation in the 31st ASEAN Summit held in the Philippines this week. Trump's Asia trip focused on the development of trade between the United States and other nations. Trump recently made an announcement about a major statement he will be delivering upon his return to the White House. "I will be making a major statement from the @WhiteHouse upon my return to D.C. Time and date to be set," POTUS tweeted. Trump also took a shot at former administrations, including the previous one by former President Barrack Obama. Trump made it clear that his objective for talking to world leaders from all over was to promote "fair trade deals." "Just arrived at #ASEAN50 in the Philippines for my final stop with World Leaders. Will lead to FAIR TRADE DEALS, unlike the horror shows from past administrations," he stated. Trump is also looking forward to the passing of the Great Tax Bill by the House of Representatives upon his return. The bill aims to cut the tax rate of middle-class workers in the United States. The tax bill, however, had been targeted by analysts. One of Trump's most recent posts on Twitter tackles a Presidential Tracking Poll released by Rasmussen Reports. According to the latest poll, 46 percent of U.S. voters approve and are happy about the efforts of the Trump administration. Trump clarified that there is fake news circulating online about a false poll with a 30 percent approval rate. He captioned his post about the Rasmussen Reports with, "One of the most accurate polls last time around. But #FakeNews likes to say we're in the 30's. They are wrong. Some people think numbers could be in the 50's." Trump concluded, "We will make America great again." Trump has had a long-running struggle with fake news involving a variety of issues like the one with North Korea. Hillsong Conference 2018 coming to Sydney, London and New York The Hillsong Church is inviting people from all over the world to attend its most anticipated event every year. In 2018, there will be three massive events to be staged in Australia, England and the United States. The first Hillsong Conference will be staged in its place of origin, Sydney, Australia, from July 10 to July 13, 2018, at the Qudos Bank Arena. The second conference will be held at the 02 Arena in London, United Kingdom, from July 25 to 27, 2018. The event in the United States will take place at Barclays Center in New York from Aug. 1 to 3, 2018. The main theme of the 2018 conference is "Championing the Cause of Local Churches Everywhere." All events will be hosted by world-renowned pastors Brian and Bobbie Houston. All conferences will feature separate happenings like the Kidsong program where children can perform, learn about the Bible, play games and reflect. Brian and Bobbie's invitation mentions innovative leadership to be one of the highlights of the events. "Guests, creativity and innovative leadership from within our own Hillsong house, will play their part in opening up 'new heights, horizons and heart' when it comes to all things Kingdom and cause," the invitation reads. One of the most anticipated activities is the Masterclass, which will take place in Sydney. Masterclasses give individuals the opportunity to brainstorm and share innovative ideas to help the church and the people it serves. Pastors Steven Furtick, Carl Lentz, Chris Hodges and John Gray will be guest speakers throughout the conferences. Ticket are already on sale and people who register by Jan. 28, 2018 can save $50 AUD. There are additional fees for extra activities like Kidsong, Playgroup, and Young & Free. Hillsong is also holding a contest to give people a chance to win free trips to the Hillsong Conference 2018 and receive a copy of Pastor Brian's new book "There Is More." Other than the annual conference, Hillsong will also launch a separate event called the Colour Conference at the ICC Sydney theatre next year. There will be two conferences, the first one will be on March 15 to 17, 2018, and the second one from March 19 to 21, 2018. Maayazagu, an armed reserved guard, became a hero after he gave an emotional speech during a protest at Marina Beach about how the rights of the Tamil people were being violated. However, 10 months after the incident, departmental action under clause 3B has been taken against him. By Pramod Madhav: The 2017 Jallikattu protest is a milestone in the history of Tamil Nadu politics as it brought at least a lakh protesters to the shores of Marina Beach. The protestors were fighting for the rights to conduct Jallikattu, a traditional bull taming sport. The well-organised protest would have been an untainted non-violent success had not the last day clash occurred between certain miscreants and the police. advertisement One among the many highlights of the protest was the speech of policeman Maayazagu, an armed reserved guard. Maayazagu came forward and gave an emotional speech about how the rights of the Tamil people were being violated. "We treat the cows and bulls as part of our family. Jallikattu has been a sport that has helped in conserving the indigenous varieties of cattle. Now they are in danger and I just can't stand and watch it like a spectator. I support this crowd fighting for Jallikattu ", he said. Maayazagu became a hero for the day and was wildly cheered by the crowd. His speech left the senior officers stunned, they attempted to move Maayazagu away from the location but were stopped by the protesters. The protestors allowed the cops to take Maayazagu after getting assurance from then Mylapore Joint Commissioner Balakrishnan that no action would be taken against him. However, 10 months after the incident, Departmental action under clause 3B charge has been taken against Maayazagu. The action would apparently affect his promotion and pay grade. Though no official reasons were given for the action, inside information claimed that the action was necessary as he was wearing uniform while commenting which is against the officers code of conduct. --- ENDS --- 'NCIS' season 15 episode 8 spoilers: A strange voice to lead the agents to a new case Facebook/NCIS Something strange is about to happen in the coming "NCIS" season 15 episode 8 titled "Voices." The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents are going to handle a different kind of case, and it will be like no other. Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon) is up to handle another strange assignment in the upcoming new episode of the long-running television show. As this case is described to be different from what the agents have been handled, they will be up to investigate the most unusual project. In the official synopsis of "NCIS" season 15 episode 8 shared by Cartermatt, the NCIS' person of interest in a bribery and fraud case will be seen murdered. A runner is said to be led by a strange voice to find the suspect's lifeless body. Now, it is a big question if an unknown voice could be accountable for this new murder in "Voices." Anyhow, this strange voice wants to assure that someone is going to find this dead body and let the NCIS team know about it. On the other hand, Timothy McGee (Sean Murray) and Delilah Fielding (Margo Harshman) are having a disagreement whether they will know their baby's gender, so they could prepare, or just keep it a big surprise. Also, "NCIS" season 15 episode 8 will make way for the return of Mike Franks (Muse Watson). Meanwhile, in an interview with TV Insider, Harmon addressed the rumors that he will be leaving "NCIS" season 15. The actor explained that as long as the action police procedural series' writers are still having fun doing the show, he would never do that. But, when the time comes that he will see their heads down when entering the writers' room, then that will be the moment he is also done playing the role of Special Agent Gibbs. "But there is still a real feeling of creativity and a sense of reinvention on our set," he proudly said. He also talked about mysterious traits Gibbs has. Although the show is already in its 15th season, fans are still not sure who Gibbs really is. He then described his role as a loner and a leader who has a lot of emotional scars a person who is well reserved. NCIS" season 15 episode 8 titled "Voices" will air on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at 9 p.m. EST on CBS. Pope will visit prison during Ireland visit and 'be present with the marginalised' Pope Francis will visit a prison in Ireland when he visits the country next August, Dublin's Archbishop has revealed. Speaking to the Irish Independent at St Mary's Pro Cathedral in Dublin, Diarmuid Martin said the Pope would also 'want to meet priests when he comes' and 'will want particularly to meet with the poor'. 'He will, without any doubt, visit a prison,' the archbishop added, in the first indication of what the Pope's agenda will be in Ireland. The exact itinerary of the trip remains unclear until the Vatican officially confirms the visit is going ahead, which it is expected to do in January. Dr Martin is president and host of the international World Meeting of Families, which takes place from August 21 to 26 next year, at which the Pope will preside at the concluding Mass, most likely to be held in Croke Park on Sunday, August 26, according to the Irish Independent. 'He is coming for the World Meeting of Families, that is his primary purpose. He will focus on the many difficulties and challenges families have to face,' Dr Martin said yesterday. 'He doesn't want big shows, he wants to be just present with those who are marginalised,' Dr Martin added. Archbishop Martin said that he would like Pope Francis, who has visited a number of prisons in Italy, 'to come to areas, particularly of Dublin, where he can see poor communities, hit by poverty or difficulties'. The Irish Independent speculated that this may suggest the Archbishop is lining up a visit to the inner-city communities of his own parish. Reinhard Bonnke launches ambitious campaign to win 150 million souls for Jesus World-renowned evangelist Reinhard Bonnke just ended a five-day crusade that launched an ambitious God-given campaign to reach 150 million souls for the Lord Jesus Christ. The Passing the Torch Gospel Crusade, a five-day crusade held November 8 to 12, marked the end of Bonnke's ministry to Africa, as he is passing the torch to his successor, evangelist Daniel Kolenda. According to Bonnke himself, the Lord spoke to him that he should go back "for one more crusade in Africa." This crusade also marked 50 years of Bonnke's ministry to Africa, which began with a God-given vision of the continent being washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. The aged minister and founder of Christ for All Nations is now passing the torch of Gospel fire to many ministers who desire to serve the Lord on African soil and elsewhere. "There is great excitement from all the churches in the country, and we are expecting a spectacular harvest of people coming to Christ," John Darku, CfAN's African Director said during the crusade's planning. This crusade also marks the beginning of a greater campaign to reach more souls than they have ever. "Although this crusade is Evangelist Bonnke's final African crusade," Daniel Kolenda, Bonnke's successor, said, "it is only the beginning of what I believe will be a decade of super massive harvests for Christ for all Nations." Kolenda said God has given him a word of a "Decade of Double Harvest." CfAN says that for the past three decades, the number of individually signed salvation-decision cards has reached over 76 million souls. Now, they are aiming to double that and reach 150 million souls. CfAN aimed to reach more than 6 million - the number of people who came during the five-day Lagos Millenium Crusade in 2000. The recent five-day crusade, however, reached only a total of more than 1.7 million people, because of an "unusual level of resistance" that Evangelist Kolenda calls "birth pangs." "Although this crusade was Evangelist Bonnke's Farewell in Africa, it is really just the beginning of something new and wonderful. God has given me the vision for a "Decade of Double Harvest," Kolenda said. "I believe that over the next decade, we will see another 75-million people won to Christ and tonight was the beginning," he added. "No wonder we are feeling the pangs of birth." 'RHOA' season 10 news: Kenya Moore affected by online criticisms on relationship with husband Marc Daly "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" (RHOA) star Kenya Moore has been quite secretive about her husband Marc Daly for much of the past season and even early on the tenth run of the reality show, but on Sunday's episode of the Bravo show, the former Miss USA titleholder revealed just how much the couple valued their privacy. Moore was talking with the show's producer in the episode, and while breaking down, she divulged that the spotlight on her husband has been affecting their marriage. Since they both prefer to keep their relationship private, the online criticisms Daly has been receiving are taking a toll on the couple. She also went on to narrate that people had been saying that her businessman beau had to fight his mother just to be with her. Moore also lamented that people were bringing up things from the past. She narrated that some Daly's ex-girlfriends had been communicating with him to bring up guys Moore had dated a long time ago. She went on to denounce these, saying that they had nothing to do with the present situation. "This pressure is too much. It's too much stuff going on. I don't wanna get divorced," Moore cried, adding that she had been affected by the online comments that kept questioning Daly's decision to be with her. The 46-year-old star also revealed that her husband is not used to the attention he has been getting, explaining that Daly was a "private person." Moore said that she felt that she needed to protect her husband, especially since the media has been going crazy about their love story. Previously, Moore hid the identity of her husband, and even their wedding was kept from her co-stars. Other "RHOA" cast members have criticized this, with Porsha Williams explaining that their relationships have always been part of the reality show. Cynthia Bailey, one of Moore's close friends in "RHOA," even admitted in an interview that she felt off about Moore's decision to hold the ceremony without inviting her, but added that she was happy for the couple. Why Boris Johnson should get the Church's help in persuading Iran to free Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe All of Britain is gripped by the saga of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman detained in Iran. The pictures of her 2-year old daughter, Gabriella, are in every paper pining for her missing mother. Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, has dominated airwaves with extraordinary dignity. He has been fighting for his wife's liberation since she was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard in March when taking her little girl to visit her grandparents. Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe works as a project manager for the Thomons Reuters Foundation and has also worked for the BBC Persian Service. Journalists who know Iran and can speak farsee, and the BBC, are both enemies in the eyes of Iranian hardliners. But there is no evidence that she was working on Iranian politics and her job was administrative rather than journalistic. Richard Ratcliffe launched an on-line petition in June which attracted 1.24 million signatures and was hopeful that he might get wife wife back home until an extraordinary blunder by the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson. He told the House of Commons she was involved in training journalists in Iran. The Iranian embassy in London monitors carefully every remark by British politicians and this utterly wrong statement by Britain's highest foreign policy person was seized on in Tehran by hardliners who promptly increased Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's sentence to five years. After endless front page and TV bulletin criticisms, Boris Johnson has withdrawn his statement and apologised for this crass remark. But who can actually get help get Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe home? There is a precedent involving the Catholic Church. In March 2007, the Iranians detained four Royal Navy sailors whose navigation skills were so poor they crossed into Iranain waters in a small boat. I was serving as a UK delegate on the Council of Europe after 8 years of political work in the Foreign and Commonwealth office culminating as deputy to the Foreign Secretary and minister of Europe. In that capacity I had come to learn about and admire the extraordinary reach of the Vatican's diplomatic network. Know as papal nuncios these men are amongst the most skilled, professional diplomats in the world with literally centuries of experience and diplomatic savoir faire to call upon. When I was minister responsible for Latin America and the Balkans I made a point of meeting Vatican diplomats as often they have sharper, shrewder insights into what was going on from the local clergy in the countries they were posted to. The FCO is institutionally an Anglican ministry and the many years of anti-Catholic passions in England dating back to the 16th century, while not valid, still are in the FCO's genetic profile. In a foolish bit of FCO cost-cutting when I was Europe minister, FCO anti-Catholic bean-counters had proposed to merge the bi-lateral UK embassy with Italy with the embassy to the Vatican. As Europe minister I was told by officials the Vatican had signed off on this. This was not true. I had my own contacts who confirmed that Rome was completely opposed to the UK reducing the rank and status of its ambassador to the Holy See to a secondary figure sitting in a back-office in the main UK embassy in Rome. So I quashed the idea. I am glad I did because in March 2007, the Iranians detained the four Royal Navy sailors. By chance, at the time I was staying in Rome with a friend, Francis Campbell, who was UK ambassador to the Holy See and is now a university vice chancellor. When the news of the Royal Navy arrests broke I contacted Tony Blair's office in Downing Street and suggested we use the Pope as an intermediary. Campbell had excellent contacts and got to work. In the end the Pope, Benedict XVI, addressed a fraternal message to the supreme ayatollah as one church leader to another saying that at Easter time it was right for families to be united. It wasn't quite en clair but it allowed Iran enough face to let the British sailors go home. The case of the four Royal Navy sailors who could not read a map is not the same as Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe. But in Iran it is religious leaders who have supreme authority so it would make sense for London to approach the Vatican quietly and see if the Church can help. The same is true for the Church of England and even for senior Muslim religious leaders in the UK. The MP Tom Tugendhat who chairs the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has taken up the idea and asked Johnson to use the good offices of religious leaders. It is reported by Christian Today that Johnson has not bothered to contact with the Vatican nor Lambeth Palace to enlist their help. If so it is yet another reason why his period as Foreign Secretary is so sad. But all this had to happen without publicity as the last thing the Iranian rulers will do is bow to noisy rent-a-quote pressure from British MPs or headlines in the press. A period of silence from ministers, MPs and the press would probably help. In today's world where force and classical diplomacy are less and less effective, other ways of getting governments to behave well are needed. Using the diplomatic outreach of churches can serve a purpose and should be used in the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Denis MacShane is a former minister for Europe. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar met in Chandigarh to discuss ways to keep a check on stubble burning and vehicular pollution. By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar today met in Chandigarh to discuss ways to check stubble burning and vehicular pollution. However, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh was not present in the meeting. Subsequent to their meeting, Khattar and Kejriwal spoke with waiting mediapersons and said Haryana and Delhi would work together to check the menace of smog. advertisement "We had a very positive discussion, we will take all steps possible to tackle the situation," Kejriwal said with Khattar by his side. On his part, the Haryana chief minister called air pollution a "common concern" and said that Haryana would work towards ensuring that Delhi has better air quality levels. Defending his state, Khattar said, "Satellite data shows that stubble burning has significantly reduced in Haryana." However, the question is: Will any effort by Delhi and Haryana governments without the active participation of Punjab have the desired impact to curb pollution in the national capital? Not all think so. CONGRESS ON KHATTAR-KEJRIWAL MEETING Congress spokesperson Tom A Vadakkan told India Today that dealing with pollution is not a quick-fix issue. "There has to be a long-term solution." Vadakkan accused Kejriwal of following a political agenda. "He is trying to pass the buck on others." He said had the Delhi government wanted, it could have adopted several measures to check pollution. "Instead, he is looking for band-aid solution," he said. Vadakkan supported the Punjab chief minister for saying that the centre should also intervene and that the matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court. On Twitter, Kejriwal had asked Singh on Tuesday to meet him in Chandigarh over stubble burning by farmers leading to smog and pollution in the national capital and the surrounding areas. "Captain Amarinder Singh Sir, I am coming to Chandigarh on Wednesday to meet Haryana CM (Manohar Lal Khattar). Would be grateful if you could spare some time to meet me. It is in collective interest," Kejriwal said in a tweet. Calling it an emergency situation, Kejriwal said his office was continuously seek appointment with Amarinder and Khattar. However, Amarinder Singh thought otherwise. In a series of tweets on November 8 itself, Amarinder said he shared Kejriwal's concern over stubble burning and pollution. But he was of the view that only the Centre could solve the problem. Amarinder further said the situation was serious but Punjab was helpless. The problem is widespread and Punjab government did not have any money to compensate farmers for stubble management. advertisement In a strongly-worded tweet, Punjab chief minister's media adviser Raveen Thukral asked Kejriwal to stop politicising the issue. Quoting Amarinder, he asked the Delhi chief minister to leave the matter to the Centre and the Supreme Court where the matter is sub judice. Delhi is affected by the problem stubble burning in the neighbouring states, mainly Punjab and Haryana. Without the active participation of Punjab, the problem is unlikely to be solved. --- ENDS --- In one corner, a media powerhouse that catalyzed the 24-hour news cycle. In the other, a rambunctious upstart that made its name with catchy videos and listicles before diving into hard-news reporting. Two outlets battling for the attention of digital audiences, needling each other along the way. In a time of journalistic solidarity and cross-newsroom cheerleading in the face of Trumpism, the rollicking feud between CNN and BuzzFeed is an entertaining throwback to media wars of the past. The running conflictcarried out on social media, in snarky interviews, and, occasionally, in serious editorial disagreementshas fueled a desire to outdo each other and in the process produce great journalism. ICYMI: The term BuzzFeed now says is acceptable I think its actually good for both organizations, says CNN Vice President of Communications Matt Dornic, the man behind a series of Twitter barbs directed at BuzzFeed. We challenge them to be better journalists, and they challenge us to be better storytellers. Adds BuzzFeed Editor in Chief Ben Smith: This is an intensely competitive business, and competition has always been great for journalism. In some way were flattered that CNN sees us as a rival and competitor. The genesis of the feud was a 2016 Variety story in which CNN president Jeff Zucker took a shot at two of his millennial-focused competitors. I dont think Vice and BuzzFeed are legitimate news organizations, Zucker told Variety, adding with a mischievous grin: They are native advertising shops. We crush both of them. They are not even in our same class. Though he later walked back that claim, the train had left the station, and the feud was on. Sign up for CJR 's daily email ICYMI: Breitbarts sinister response to Washington Posts recent bombshell CNNs October 2016 hiring of BuzzFeeds multimedia scoop machine Andrew Kaczynski and his K-File team fanned the flames, and skirmishes over audience reach further fueled the fire. More recently, BuzzFeed mocked CNNs new Facts First ad campaign with a parody video. Beyond the feuding, the battle between CNN, the pioneer in the 24-hour news cycle that has invested heavily in digital, and BuzzFeed, a digital upstart that has quickly become an online powerhouse for young consumers, is one over the future of journalism. And the conflict isnt all Twitter kayfabe. Though sources at both outlets spoke of mutual respect and admiration for counterparts at their respective competitor, real disagreements and anger exist. BuzzFeed still draws a lot of its revenue from viral videos and listicles, and CNN spends plenty of hours on partisan talking heads shouting over each other and resolving nothing. Smith complains that CNN sometimes fails to credit BuzzFeed reporting during televised broadcasts, a courtesy that BuzzFeed Deputy News Director Tom Namako says his outlet always strives to provide. .@ChrisCuomo just did a report on Kevin Spacey, no mention of @BuzzFeedNews breaking the story. We always give CNN the courtesy of credit. Tom Namako (@TomNamako) October 30, 2017 The biggest substantive dispute between the two outlets came last January, when CNN reported on the existence of the now-infamous Trump dossier without revealing any of the information it contained. BuzzFeed responded by publishing the redacted document in full. Donald Trump, then the president-elect, conflated the two outlets work at a press conference, calling CNN fake news and BuzzFeed a failing pile of garbage. Minutes after those statements, CNNs Jake Tapper drew a distinction between what he saw as CNNs own legitimate, responsible attempts to report on this incoming administration and BuzzFeeds irresponsible journalism that hurts us all. ICYMI: Journalists hear a commotion. They discover woman dying on a sidewalk. BuzzFeeds Smith defended his decision to publish the dossier, while acknowledging the criticism from other outlets. He says that disagreements, even contentious ones, are healthy: I think solidarity is important on core issues of a free press, but I also think a core mission of journalism is to check each others work, to call each other out so the audience never gets the idea that were a cartel. The rivalry comes at a time when the industry is under assault from the president, right-wing insurgents want to burn the entire institution to the ground, and the public largely doesnt trust the media. In response to these outside attacks, a collective circling of the wagons has taken hold. Its a time of professional bonhomie that has seen journalists from ostensible rivals celebrating the work of their competitors. The top editors at the two heavyweight newspapers trading Trump scoops have a not-so-bitter rivalry, while their corporate social media accounts have engaged in a downright lovefest. On the other hand, the CNN-BuzzFeed rivalry harkens back to earlier eras. The history of American journalism writ small is feuds between publications and competing journalists on the same beat, says Politico senior media writer Jack Shafer. Citing examples stretching from titanic battles between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer to fierce competition between Ben Bradlees Washington Post and James Bellows Washington Star, Shafer says that this sort of rivalry is a healthy thing. It drives the best talent to the top. Reporters in the Trump era have no shortage of material to work with, says BuzzFeeds head of US News, Shani Hilton. The reality is, were living in a world where officials lie, powerful people abuse their influence, and fake news spreads rapidly across platforms, which means theres no shortage of breaking news and exclusives to go around, Hilton wrote in an email to CJR. But that also means we have to compete. A number of outlets, CNN included, are doing incredible work, and we know our reporting has to be fair, aggressive, and swift if its going to break through. Im glad our coverage has been able to do that in such a significant way with our readers, but also with other news [organizations] that have been chasing down stories weve broken and focusing on topics that weve been covering critically for some time. All newsrooms are competitive places. But having an open rival ratchets up the intensity. CNN boasts a 4,000-person operation around the globe that must feed multiple 24-hour networks as well as its digital domains, while BuzzFeed has built up its news division to more than 300 staffers. Dornic acknowledges BuzzFeeds success, and the intra-outlet sniping, has pushed CNN to be better. They forced us to not rest on our laurels, he says. I would credit them with pressuring us to focus on new audiences to the point that we now have the largest millennial reach. IYCMI: An interactive map of Americas news deserts BuzzFeed, of course, disputes Dornics claim that CNNs reaches more young consumers. I have literally never seen that claim made outside of a CNN press release, Smith says. But its also clear that theyve invested more seriously and successfully than most of their competitors, to their credit. CNN responded by citing comScore data that have consistently shown the companys platforms reaching the largest audience among all digital news companies, and a story in The Hollywood Reporter that notes CNNs dominance. A BuzzFeed spokesperson pointed out that that same THR story included the line, Indeed, in January, BuzzFeed lured 44.5 million millennial unique visitors compared with 35.8 million for CNN.com. ComScore does not measure content posted on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, where digital-native brands like BuzzFeed focus their efforts. CJRs subsequent conversations with representatives of each outlet devolved into a back-and-forth over metrics and conflicting measurements. Because what good is a feud without something to argue over? Competition is good, BuzzFeeds Smith says. It is America after all. ICYMI: Heads up! Two dozen freelancers told CJR these are the best outlets to pitch Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Pete Vernon is a former CJR staff writer. Follow him on Twitter @ByPeteVernon. TV journalists Vince Lattanzio and Mat Mezer heard a commotion while reporting on a story in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. A woman was dying of an overdose on the sidewalk. Her lips were turning blue. Despite having learned how to use Narcan the week prior, Lattanzio wasnt carrying any when they found her. They called 911. The NBC 10 team was only the first in a string of journalists to discover an overdose in progress in The Badlands, a pocket of North Philadelphia where drug users can purchase some of the most potent heroin on the East Coast. On any given day there, police, paramedics, outreach workers, and drug touristssome of whom traveled to the city years ago to buy heroin and have yet to leavefill the lawns, sidewalks, and streets. More recently, the neighborhood has hosted an influx of journalists and television celebrities like Dr. Oz, who are there to report on the scene. ICYMI: Facebook and Twitter have been criticized for fake news. However, another popular platform has somehow been overlooked. This increase in opioid-related news coverage has revived an ethical debate in Philadelphiaa city that suffered more than 900 fatal overdoses in 2016 and is projected to hit more than 1,200 this yearabout when journalists should help and when they should report: Should individuals reporting on populations at high risk of overdose carry Narcan? Some journalists, including a high-profile local columnist, think the answer is yes, and are prepared to intervene. And while professional organizations like the Society of Professional Journalists have yet to take an official stance, they arent opposed. Using Narcan is similar to performing CPR or the Heimlich maneuverif a journalist is trained in these life-saving procedures, they would, could, and should save someone in distress, SPJ President Rebecca Baker tells CJR. Weve seen journalists stepping out of their roles as news gatherers to help people in life-threatening situations, such as rescuing people from hurricane-flooded areas in Texas. This is simply a different type of rescue. Using Narcan is similar to performing CPR or the Heimlich maneuverif a journalist is trained in these life-saving procedures, they would, could, and should save someone in distress. Mike Newall, a city columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer whos been writing about the overdose crisis since May, started reporting on the opiate problem when the rise in public overdoses intersected with his interest in exposing recreation centers that had fallen into disrepair. Hed caught a tip that the McPherson Square librarians were trained to use and equipped with Narcan. Overdoses there were so common that the library staff could differentiate a heroin overdose (a slow slide), from a fentanyl overdose (a hard fall), by the sounds they made through the librarys bathroom door. Sign up for weekly emails from the United States Project On Newalls second day of reporting that story, a woman overdosed while he was interviewing her in Needle Park, a name locals gave to the McPherson Square library lawn. The columnist, who dialed 911, felt helplessuntil Chera Kowalski, a McPherson librarian, burst with her little blue pouch through the librarys doors. By the time Kowalski got there with her Narcan kit, the womans partner had already given her a dose. Kowalski, who at that time had experience reversing three or four overdoses, put her in the recovery positionher head tilted back, body on one side, and hand against her chinand together they waited for the ambulance to arrive. ICYMI: Breitbarts sinister response to Washington Posts recent bombshell Seeing the doors bang open and this librarian, who you wouldnt think would be a lifesaver, come out and do what she did, put the crisis in that neighborhood into really sharp relief for me, Newall says. To see how they responded to a crisis, it struck me as the right way to do it, and the way we should all be doing it right now. Since Newall covered that story, hes been in Kensington every week. Hes written more than a dozen columns on the subject, including one about that experience as it connects to the untimely death of his brother, and why he now carries a little blue pouch of his own. The only thing in Kensington that drowns your voice out more than the train is the ambulances, he says. In Pennsylvania, anyone can walk into a pharmacy and purchase Narcan (a brand name for naloxone) as long as its in stock. Some pharmacies choose not to carry it due to the cost, but as of October 24, Walgreens announced it will be carrying the medication at all of its 8,000-plus stores. In Philadelphia, as of late October, two doses of the nasal spray cost $85 without insurance. With insurance, the out-of-pocket cost goes down. Newall got his overdose reversal kit from Elvis Rosado, the education and outreach coordinator for the local harm reduction nonprofit Prevention Point. It includes two 4-mg naloxone nasal sprays (Narcan), one 1-mg auto-injector of naloxone with a nasal adapter (Evzio), rubber gloves, and a rescue breathing maskwhich he keeps in his bag at all times. Though he has yet to reverse an overdose, he did give one of the auto-injectors to a person whose friend was conscious, but looked high-risk. The others, hes left alone. Im a columnist, so maybe Im free to raise my hand and say, I am in favor of saving lives, says Newall. But, he adds, Im not a first responder; Im a columnist, Im a news reporter. I dont walk around like, Hey, how many people can I Narcan today? For nearly six months between 2015 and 2016, Lattanzio and Mezer were part of a team of journalists from Philadelphias NBC affiliate who worked on an Emmy-winning news documentary called Generation Addicted. The 30-minute television special and online feature focused on the growing opioid crisis in Philadelphia. The station would not give Lattanzio and Mezer permission to speak with CJR, but one of their reporting partners, Morgan Zalot, says they believe the woman who overdosed on the sidewalk survived. However, the experience still sparked an ongoing conversation in the newsroom about whether journalists should carry the medication while on the job. According to Zalot, who left the station last year, everyone thereincluding reporters, videographers and producersagreed that they should. Im never gonna be okay with standing by and essentially watching someone suffocate, or watching someone die, when I know that theres something relatively easy that I could do to prevent it, says Zalot, now a graduate student pursuing a masters degree in public health at Temple University. At that point, its not about journalism; its about someones life. Its not about the story anymore. Newall would draw the line at driving into the neighborhood with the intent to distribute boxes of Narcan. Opinions like Newalls and Zalots challenge the traditional ethical notion that journalists should remain rigidly detached from the individuals on whom they report. In the past, some journalists have taken this hard-line approach to what others consider the extreme. ICYMI: Heads up! Two dozen freelancers told CJR these are best outlets to pitch In 2010, the New York Post published R. Umar Abbasis photograph of a man seconds before he died on the tracks of a New York subway train. Abbasi later wrote in the Post that he tried to use his flash to alert the conductor that the man had been pushed in the trains path, but many individualsincluding journalistsargued that he could have done more, and doubted that claim. More than a decade earlier, in the mid-1990s, reporter Sonia Nazario stood back while a family ate just three hotdogs for an entire meal. After a photographer she was working with gave one family they were profiling a bag of groceries, she criticized his ethics, telling CJR, I think what was beaten into me early as a reporter was you dont intervene or change a story that youre writing about. Then there was Kevin Carters 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of a starving Sudanese toddler, taking what appeared to be her last breaths, with a vulture looming ominously behind her. In the documentary The Death of Kevin Carter, Carters then-girlfriend said that while the toddler got up and continued moving after the photograph was taken, many argued that he should have done more to help. He died by suicide in 1994. According to media ethicist Stephen Ward, the belief that journalists should not become involved with the individuals on whom they report comes from century-old ethics that protect them from compromising their independence. So, for example, journalists should not develop personal relationships with politicians, or those relationships might influence their work. But over the years, Ward explains, journalists have interpreted that principle to mean the need for an absolute, unapproachable distanceteetering on callousedbetween their sources and themselves. The notion that journalists should remain detached, Ward says, was never meant to cover an extreme case such as an individual dying right in front of them. Journalists are not and should not be stenographers of fact, says Ward, who lectures at the University of British Columbia. Journalists should assist people who are in distress, he explains, if they can do so without endangering themselves. And if editors happen to notice bias in the journalists work as a result, there are ways to deal with it while protecting their independence. To me its not very different than photography in the sense that you need to determine when you are there to take a photo, [and] when you are there to help somebody. Regardless of what journalists decide to do, Billy Penn editor Shannon Wink is encouraging her staff and other local media organizations to get training so they can make informed decisions. On November 4, Billy Penn hosted a free, three-hour Narcan event with Prevention Point at the 2017 Klein News Innovation Camp. Twelve journalists from a variety of outlets, including Philadelphia Weekly and WHYY, attended. There was no debate about ethics, Wink says, as those in attendance seemed to have already made up their minds. To me its not very different than photography in the sense that you need to determine when you are there to take a photo, [and] when you are there to help somebody, Wink says. It seems very cut and dry to me. And its pretty clear for Newall, too. While hes lost some sleep over certain things related to his addiction coverageGod forbid, my mother, who didnt see my brother for six months, picked up the New York Daily News and there he is on the front page.carrying Narcan has never been one of them. CJRs health care reporting is sponsored in part by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund. ICYMI: The shocking observation a HuffPost editor made about recent sexual harassment stories Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jillian Bauer-Reese is an assistant professor of journalism in the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University, where she teaches a course called Solutions Journalism: Covering Addiction. She is also a person in long-term recovery. You can contact her at jbr@temple.edu or on Twitter @thesmallpicture. YouTube has been largely overlooked in the national discussion about the spread of fake news, which typically centers around Facebook and Twitter. But that is changing. Last week, writer James Bridle posted on Medium about the booming world of online videos for children. Bridle explores a world of automatically generated videos based on childrens content on YouTube, as well as human-generated parodies of kid content that might show up in their feeds. Its too easy for scammers to harvest revenue from traffic from kids attention. I suppose its naive not to see the deliberate versions of this coming, Bridle writes. YouTube has said it will implement new policies in response. ICYMI: Breitbarts sinister response to Washington Posts recent bombshell But its only one of many problems that Google (which owns YouTube) is dealing with in surfacing good information, whether on Google, Google News, or YouTube. While the platform does not want to hide any content (except videos produced to promote terrorism), it continues to get bad press when it surfaces fake news or conspiracy theories as primary results. Google was heavily criticized last month after its search promoted a 4chan post spreading misinformation about the Vegas shooter. And, of course, Google also recently testified alongside Facebook and Twitter in Congressional hearings about potential Russian use of their platforms to influence the election. In the wake of the Sutherland Springs shooting, The New York Times podcast The Daily and others have pointed out how YouTube, especially in the information vacuum following a violent incident, will prioritize clips of reactionary commentators making up information above actual news reports. ICYMI: Why people are concerned about the Timess Monday Trump administration scoop This isnt just bad for the consumer, its also bad for business. In September, Forbes reported that YouTube advertisers were spooked that their ads would be sold against questionable content. And YouTubes response, in turn, had a negative effect when many legitimate YouTubers also saw their videos de-monetized. The company is now experimenting with other options for creators to make moneyso that the few bad apples dont end up ruining the harvest. Sign up for CJR 's daily email For a history of changes on YouTube, visit our handy platform timeline. More on platforms and journalism: YouTube is also taking a stronger stance on extremist content, removing more of the jihadist cleric Anwar al-Awlakis sermons from its platform. Previously the platform limited removal of videos to hateful or violent content, but it has expanded its purview. Sociologist Tressie McMillan Cottom observes that the Facebook ads shown to her changed when she was reaching out to various populations for her research on non-traditional students. Im curious: have any journalists experienced the same? Let us know at the email below. The Tow Center for Digital Journalisms Research Director Jonathan Albright has also written (before joining Tow) about how AI can easily generate fake news en masse on YouTube by packing segments with keywords. Even small independent news outlets can have a dramatic effect on the content of national conversation, says a new, five-year study from Harvard touting the advantages of being a smaller, independent outlet in this day and age. This study nicely complements the findings from a study at the Tow Center, set to go live in a few hours, on how local newsrooms can capitalize on the unique reporting they bring to the field. Other notable stories A scary story in Wired, How one womans digital life was weaponized against her. ICYMI: Twitters bot problem isnt going away Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Nausicaa Renner is digital editor of CJR. Overturning an appeal courts decision, South Koreas Supreme Court said Tuesday the family of a Samsung worker who died of a brain tumor should be eligible for state compensation for an occupational disease. The ruling on Lee Yoon-jung, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 30 and died two years later, reflects a shift in the handling of such cases in South Korea. Workers used to have the onus of proving the cause of a disease caused by their work. But after years of campaigning by labor advocates to raise awareness about the obstacles workers face in getting information about chemicals used in manufacturing, courts have begun to sometimes rule in favor of workers. Lee worked at a Samsung chip factory for six years from 1997 to 2003 but there was no record available of the levels of chemicals she was exposed to while working there. An appeals court denied the claim filed by Lee, based on government investigations into the factory conducted after she left the company. The investigations reported that the workers exposure to some toxins, such as benzene, formaldehyde and lead, were lower than maximum permissible limits. They did not measure exposure levels to other chemicals or investigate their health risks. The Supreme Court said such limitations in government investigations should not be held against a worker with a rare disease whose cause is unknown. The case filed by Lees family is the second time this year South Koreas highest court has ruled in favor of a worker. In August, the Supreme Court struck down a lower courts ruling that denied compensation to a former Samsung LCD factory worker with multiple sclerosis. The government-run Korea Workers Compensation & Welfare Service, the defendant in the case, did not respond to requests for comment. Lim Ja-woon, the lawyer representing Lee, said brain tumors are the second-most common disease, after leukemia, among former Samsung workers who sought compensation or financial aid from the government or from Samsung for a possible occupational disease. He said 27 Samsung Electronics workers have been diagnosed with brain tumors, including eight people who worked at the same factory as Lee. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The maker of Tasers said Monday that at least 15 people have caught fire, and five have died, after being stunned while near flammable materials, similar to an Oklahoma man who was burned beyond recognition after he was shocked and reportedly got into his gasoline-soaked van. Axon spokesman Steve Tuttle said the deaths include the man shocked Nov. 7 by a police officer in the town of Lindsey, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City, although authorities say they are still investigating whether the man may have lit himself on fire. Weve seen it happen, Tuttle said. Its happened about 15 times in 24 years out of about 3.5 million field uses of the device, known as a conducted electrical weapon, or CEW. Its a known situation. Thankfully its been a very rare event, Tuttle said. Investigators say the man in Oklahoma who caught fire was armed with a gun and was also carrying a lighter. An officer stunned him with a Taser, but the man managed to fight his way back into his van, where he burst into flames. Authorities say theyre still trying to determine whether the man used his lighter to start the fire or whether the Taser was the cause. Scottsdale, Arizona-based Axon notes on its website that a Taser can cause flammable materials, including gasoline, to catch fire. Do not knowingly use a CEW in the presence of any explosive or flammable substance unless the situation justifies the increased risk, the website states. The names of the man and the officers involved in the confrontation have not been released. The dead mans body was sent to the state medical examiners office for positive identification and to try to determine the cause of the blaze. McClain County Sheriffs Det. David Tompkins, who is taking part in the investigation, said it appears the officer was probably justified in using the Taser. Right now, I think it will be justified, unless something else comes up to change my mind, he said. Tompkins said investigators dont yet know whether there is video of the confrontation because they have not been able to open and view the camera that was on the officers patrol vehicle. He said the dashcam has been sent to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to determine whether it was working at the time. The dead man is believed to be a person who was reported to police in nearby Norman as possibly suicidal. Norman police spokeswoman Sarah Jensen declined to release that persons name. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. A month after deadly wildfires swept through Californias famed wine country, hot-air balloons are floating again over Napa Valley vineyards splashed with fall colors. On the heels of the disaster, a new winery is opening, keeping the name it chose some time ago: Ashes and Diamonds. The fires had only a minimal effect on the areas wineries, according to the Wine Institute, an advocacy and policy group. Of the 1,200 wineries in Sonoma, Napa and Mendocino, about 10 were destroyed or heavily damaged, and 90 percent of this years harvest already was complete, the institute said. Most vineyards were spared due to their high moisture content, and some even helped save surrounding structures by acting as fire breaks. But many operators are now grappling with other long-term effects from the fires that killed 43 people and wiped out 8,900 buildings: making up for losses from being closed at the busiest time of year, assessing the impact of smoke and other environmental damage on this years vintage, and persuading tourists to return after weeks of devastating news coverage. One of the most graphic scenes of destruction to emerge during the fires was that of the Signorello Estate winery engulfed in flames. Lost in the fire was the Napa winerys signature stone hospitality building. A kitchen, corporate offices, a wine lab and the home of owner Ray Signorello Jr. also were destroyed. We lost all our servers, systems, computers, the things we used to do business, Signorello said. But he plans to rebuild and is trying to get people back to work. At Cardinale Winery in Oakville, where just one Cabernet Sauvignon vintage is made from prized mountain appellations each year, winemaker Chris Carpenter is eyeing the grapes cautiously. He was a rare winemaker willing to say the fires effects would be felt for years, noting there also will be environmental issues to contend with. Only 50 percent of Cardinales harvest was finished when the fires erupted, and hes worried about smoke tainting what remains. All the questions are unknown right now, and we hope to have a handle on that after fermentation, Carpenter said. Carpenter said he had a chance to try some smoke-tainted wines in 2008, and they were not very pleasant like a bacon-flavored wine. If we sense any of that, we wont bottle, he said. Things already appeared to be returning to normal for guests at Sonomas Gundlach Bundschu winery, where dozens of tourists soaked up the sun outside the tasting room a few weeks after the fires. Nearby blackened hills were the only visible reminder of what recently occurred. The winery celebrated its reopening with a community party that raised $16,000 for a fund to help fire victims, said sixth-generation vintner Katie Bundschu, who oversees marketing and sales. It was a place to come and give each other hugs, said Bundschu, whose own family has been dealing with the loss of her parents home. Now the push is on to lure visitors back to the three counties, which together saw more than $3.7 billion in tourism spending in 2016. Wineries are filling the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle with ads. We are open and welcome you back to Napa! read one. Some are donating their tasting room fees to wildfire relief charities. The states tourism commission, Visit California, is spending $2 million on an advertising campaign to encourage visitors to return. Tourism is the wine countrys lifeblood, said president and CEO Caroline Beteta. If the groups hosting fundraisers spread their goodwill across the region, she said, I think they will be back and running and be able to host the world as they were before. Once people understand everything is not burned down, tourism will return within a few months, said Eric Luse, the winemaker and owner of Eric Ross Winery in Glen Ellen. Standing outside his empty tasting room and looking at passing cars, he mused, If youre not optimistic, you are in the wrong business. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. By PTI: Pinarayi cabinet Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 15 (PTI) In a setback to Keralas CPI(M)-led LDF government, Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, who is accused of land encroachment for his luxury resort, today resigned from the Cabinet--the third minister to quit in 18 months since it came to power. The resignation of Chandy, a Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA, comes a day after the Kerala high court rejected his plea to quash an inquiry report which indicted him in connection with the land grab allegations. advertisement The high court yesterday made scathing remarks against Chandy, a businessman-turned politician, and dismissed his petition challenging the report of Alappuzha District Collector on the alleged encroachments by the resort. Alappuzha District Collector T V Anupama, who was directed by the state government to look into the allegations, in her report has stated that large scale violations of Kerala Land Conservation Act and Conservation of Paddy land and Wetland Act had been committed by the resort. Chandy is the third minister to quit the Pinarayi Vijayan Cabinet which came to power in May 2016. Earlier, A K Saseendran of the NCP had resigned after a sleaze audio clip with a woman went viral and E P Jayarajan (CPI-M) quit on nepotism charges. AA The land encroachment allegations brought to fore differences in the ruling LDF with CPI, the second largest partner of the front, asking its four ministers to stay away from a Cabinet meeting held earlier in the day if Chandy attended it. Chandy, who left for Alappuzha after attending the Cabinet meeting, told Mathrubhumi television channel that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had not asked for his resignation and that there was no circumstances for the same. However, a coalition partners (CPI) "adamant stand made the CM to ask me to rethink," he said. "The chief minister said we are not asking you to resign, but take a decision after consulting with your leadership," Chandy said. Vijayan described the partners move as unprecedented, but the CPI maintained that the ministers kept away in line with the decision of the party, which took a stand that Chandy should quit and no more time should be given to the NCP to take the decision. AA Soon after the Cabinet meeting, Vijayan told reporters that it had been left to the NCP to take a decision on the resignation keeping in mind coalition principles. advertisement Hours later, NCP state President T P PeethambaranAMaster handed over Chandys resignation letter to the chief minister which was forwarded to the Governor for acceptance. AA Peethambaran told reporters that the resignation letter was handed over after consulting the NCP national leadership. Chandy, had been facing heat after allegations surfaced that his company had violated rules to construct a parking area and a road through a paddy field to his Lake Palace Resort in Alappuzha District. Opposition Congress-led UDF and BJP had been on a warpath since the past one month demanding Chandys resignation over the land encroachment allegations. AAAA When the allegations first surfaced in the media three months ago, a defiant Chandy had declared in the Assembly he would quit public life if it was proved that he had encroached even an inch of land. AA But the going became difficult for the NCP leader, after Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan sought a detailed report from the District Collector on the matter. AA With the Collectors report going against him, Chandy moved the high court challenging it and pressing for expunging any reference to him. He roped in senior lawyer and Congress MP from Madhya Pradesh Vivek Tankha to argue the case for him. advertisement However, in a setback to the minister, a division bench rapped him for filing a petition against his own government. Making stinging observations, the bench comprising Justices P N Raveendran and Devan Ramachandran held that a minister cannot file petition against his own government and there was a violation of the collective cabinet responsibility by Chandy. AAA A three-time MLA of the NCP, Chandy had been inducted into the Cabinet eight months ago following the resignation of Saseendran. NCP has two MLAs in the state. PTI JRK/UD VS GSN GSN --- ENDS --- watch now Buy the dips Pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images Every time the market pulls back, Cramer sees tons of people get scared out of their wits about a potential crash. "Don't get me wrong, it's OK to be concerned. You should always keep a close eye on your stocks they're not cash," Cramer said. "But I think worries about a devastating sell-off lurking just around the corner are indeed overblown, because there are a lot more benign forces at work in this market and not many malignant ones that can cause fortunes to be lost in the blink of an eye." Cramer acknowledged why investors might have been particularly perturbed by Tuesday's dip. There was no immediate cause for the sell-off, there's very little volatility despite geopolitical tensions, tax reform seems like it's a long way away and stocks have run up quite high. "All that said, I remain cautiously optimistic and think you need to use these dips yes, indeed, I know as buying opportunities. Why? Five reasons," Cramer said. Off the charts: Ways to diversify A customer browses goods at a Costco Wholesale store in New York. Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images Cramer loves the technology sector, but right now, it's developing a bad sign: most of the gains are narrowly spread among a few major winners, a sign of bad breadth. With Apple , Alphabet , Microsoft and Intel driving most of the technology sector's surge, Cramer turned to technician Bob Moreno, the publisher of RightViewTrading.com and his colleague at RealMoney.com, for help sorting out the moves. "Moreno thinks the fabulous bull market in tech might be less solid than it seems," Cramer said. "As much as I'm a fan of many tech stocks here ... you always need to have a diversified portfolio in case any one particular sector gives up the ghost." Regeneron CEO on Novartis competition Dr. Leonard Schleifer, CEO, Regeneron Scott Mlyn | CNBC Recent competition from Novartis AG hasn't phased Dr. Leonard Schleifer, the founder, chairman and CEO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals , in the slightest. Novartis, a rival pharmaceutical giant, announced that it was in trials for a drug meant to compete with Eylea, Regeneron's treatment for age-related macular degeneration. "If you think about Eylea, it's a pretty high bar to take on. We're going to give probably 2 million injections of Eylea this year alone in the United States, and [Novartis is] two years away at least from their first injection commercially," Schleifer told Cramer on Tuesday. The CEO said it was "funny" that, in Novartis' presentation of its competing drug, they seemed to glaze over their chief end goal. "Their primary endpoint was vision, and in that, while they were not different so-called not inferior we were actually numerically higher. And it's like they forgot that," Schleifer said. "I think they're a little bit long on enthusiasm and short on data right now." Norwegian Cruise Line CEO: Demand for Cuba Frank Del Rio, CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line Scott Mlyn | CNBC As President Donald Trump's administration cracks down on travel to Cuba, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings President and CEO Frank Del Rio is seeing an opposite trend take hold with consumers. "The demand for the Cuba vacations [is] off the charts," Del Rio told Cramer on Tuesday. "The booking curve behaves more like an exotic vacation, where people book months and months in advance and the pricing is just I can't give you a number, but it's just astronomical." Del Rio added that Norwegian Cruise Line is the only cruise company of the "big three" Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and Carnival allowed to send all of its brands to Cuba, to a huge benefit. "It's one of the most profitable itineraries that we have. And now, we have up to 4 percent of our capacity dedicated to Cuba," Del Rio said. Lightning Round: Sickly stocks? Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said Chandy's party, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has asked for more time to decide on the issue. By India Today Web Desk: Kerala's Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, who is facing land encroachment allegations, resigned from his post today. Informed sources had told India Today that he is willing to step down, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said Chandy's party, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), has asked for more time to decide on the issue. "The NCP leaders and minister have asked for more time to discuss the issue with national leadership. I cannot decline their request. They will inform me the decision after the meeting," Vijayan said this morning. WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR: India Today has learnt that Thomas Chandy has informed the state cabinet that he is willing to step down after the Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed his petition for quashing the Alappuzha district collector's report which alleged large-scale land grab by him to build a plush resort. Chandy met CM Vijayan at the latter's official Cliff House residence in Thiruvananthapuram this morning. In the meeting that lasted for 40 minutes, Vijayan is believed to have told Chandy that he will take a call on his resignation after receiving the High Court order. Vijayan had come under fire from several quarters for protecting Chandy, much against the wishes of the other allies of the Left Front government. Meanwhile, the Kerala cabinet also met this morning, which was also reportedly attended by Chandy. On Tuesday, the Kerala High Court's division bench of Justice PN Ravindran and Justice Devan Ramachandran came down heavily on Chandy and observed that it was very strange what a state minister has filed a petition against the state government "which questions the failure of the collective responsibility of the cabinet". Through the judgment, Chandy has lost all hope of continuing as a minister. In the state capital, hectic political parleys began late on Tuesday evening in the aftermath of the court decision. Vijayan arrived at the state party headquarters and was closetted with CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and later with his cabinet colleagues on what needs to be done with the now-tainted cabinet colleague Chandy. Ever since the allegation of land grab surfaced three months back, the Congress-led opposition, the BJP and even the second biggest ally of the Vijayan government - the Communist Party of India - had been demanding the resignation of Chandy. The controversy over Thomas Chandy's alleged land grab surfaced after Alappuzha district collector TV Anupama submitted a report in August saying that portions of the Marthandam lake had been usurped for building the minister's plush Lake Palace Resort, besides a paddy field was levelled for a parking lot for the resort. The Congress party in Kerala was put in an embarrassing spot after the party's senior Rajya Sabha member Vivek Tankha, a former Additional Solicitor General of India, appeared as counsel for Chandy. Chandy had become a minister only eight months ago, following the resignation of his party colleague, AK Saseendran, from the state cabinet over the issue of an alleged sleaze talk with a woman. advertisement WATCH VIDEO | It's better that Thomas Chandy steps down, Kerala High Court said on land grab scam With inputs from P S Gopikrishnan Unnithan --- ENDS --- One of Asia's largest banks is of the opinion that bitcoin is currently a financial scam. "We see bitcoin as a bit of a Ponzi scheme," David Gledhill, group chief information officer and head of group technology and operations at DBS , told CNBC on Wednesday. Bitcoin transactions are "incredibly expensive" and "all the fees are hidden through the crypto-mechanisms," he said on the sidelines of the Singapore Fintech Festival. "We don't think DBS being in that game right now is going to create a competitive advantage for us." Instead, Gledhill said, it currently makes more sense for the bank to focus on its electronic transactions of government-backed currencies. He is hardly the first to take a negative stance on the digital token. Eventually, Gledhill predicted, bitcoin pricing will become "very cheap because that's how it will scale," adding that there's no current pricing advantage for DBS. DBS is Southeast Asia's largest lender and a big believer in emerging technologies. Earlier this year, the bank said it launched a cloud-based e-learning management system powered on artificial intelligence for its employees. Bitcoin isn't going to help DBS bring in customers, deposits or wealth management so "right now, it's watch and learn," Gledhill said. The cryptocurrency has been volatile in recent weeks, slumping to $5,507 Sunday after hitting a record high of $7,879 last week. In response to Gledhill's remarks, Matthew Roszak, co-founder and chairman of Bloq, a blockchain enterprise software company, came to bitcoin's defense. "When I hear comments like that, I think a lot of folks are having their Kodak moment, where maybe they don't really understand the magnitude of this technology." Southeast Asia's largest economy faces a major obstacle to going cashless: The majority of its citizens don't have bank accounts, which means they generally rely on cash for transactions. But one of Indonesia's start-ups says it's confident of further catalyzing the adoption of e-payment systems in the country. Go-Jek, a tech "unicorn" reportedly valued at about $3 billion, comprises a ride-hailing, logistics and e-payments business. Those functions will work together to boost the firm's effort to move cash into digital value, the start-up's CEO and co-founder, Nadiem Makarim, told CNBC. "All of our drivers right now in the network we have about 850,000 registered drivers can accept cash to top up people's Go-Pay accounts," Makarim said, referring to the firm's e-payment platform. Both drivers and riders have an incentive to use the e-wallet: A customer who tops up their Go-Pay account receives discounts for future rides, while their driver gets a points bonus. The system allows unbanked customers access to the digital wallet, a Go-Jek representative said. The process will even expand to include Go-Jek's partner restaurants, Makarim said. By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Kinetic Group and Norton Motorcycles plan to import a limited number of the British brands models - Commando and Dominator - to India over the next three months even as partners prepare to launch locally assembled bikes in the country by next year-end. The companies, which have formed a joint venture last week, are also looking at a market share of around 10-14 per cent in the Indian premium bike segment. advertisement "We plan to bring in around 30 units of British made Commando and Dominator series to India in the next three months. The locally assembled units would be rolled out by end of 2018," Motoroyale Managing Director Ajinkya Firodia told reporters here. The JV plans to sell around 1,500-2,000 units in the country over the next few years aggregating to 10-14 per cent market share in the superbike segment, he added. Motoroyale, Kinetic groups venture of multi-brand superbikes, has formed a JV with Norton under which Norton motorcycles would be assembled at Kinetics Ahmednagar-based manufacturing facility. The partners are currently looking at finalising details on the level of localisation and production processes to be followed at Ahmednagar plant. "Currently we are swapping engineers. Some of our people are here to understand the processes. Even people from Kinetic would be visiting our locations," Norton Motorcycles CEO and owner Stuart Garner said. He said the company is in the process of developing new models which could also be launched in India as part of partnership with Kinetic. The JV would also focus to have sales network in the 12- 15 major cities across the country, he added. Motoroyale already sells brands like MV Agusta and SWM in the Indian market through 4 dealerships in major cities like Pune, Ahmedabad and Bangalore. The JV will assemble and distribute the Norton bikes not only in India but also throughout Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Brunei Darussalam, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The JV firm aims to sell 4,000-5,000 units in these markets annually over the next 2-3 years of launch. The bikes are expected to be launched by end of 2018 in India as well other Asian markets. Garner said that with JV in place, one-third of Nortons global sales are expected to come from Asian markets. The company expects to sell around 1,000 units this year. Next year it aims to sell 1,500-2,000 units. PTI MSS RKL MR --- ENDS --- A lock screen from a cyber attack warns that data files have been encrypted on a laptop computer in this arranged photo. Russian cyber operatives have attacked Britain's media, telecommunications and energy sectors over the past year, according to prepared remarks by the head of the government's main cyber defense agency. Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), declined to provide any details on the attacks in a speech scheduled for Wednesday in London. The remarks follow comments on Monday from Prime Minister Theresa May in which she accused Russia of spreading disinformation and meddling in elections, echoing a heated debate in the United States over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Russian has strongly denied any election interference in the United States. The Russian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond when asked after normal business hours for comment on Martin's remarks. A senior Chinese diplomat will visit North Korea from Friday as a special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, the government announced on Wednesday, amid continued tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. China has repeatedly pushed for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but in recent months has had only limited high-level exchanges with North Korea. February last year was the last time China's special envoy for North Korea visited the country. In a brief dispatch, the official Xinhua news agency said Song Tao, who heads the ruling Communist Party's external affairs department, would leave for North Korea on Friday. He will "inform the DPRK of the 19th CPC National Congress and visit the DPRK", Xinhua said, using the North's official name and also referring to the recently concluded Communist Party Congress in China where Xi further cemented his power. North Korea's KCNA news agency confirmed the visit, but said only that it would take place "soon." It is not clear how long Song could stay, but he has already visited Vietnam and Laos to inform them of the results of the congress, a typical courtesy China extends other communist countries after such important meetings. Song's department is in charge of the party's relations with foreign political parties, and has traditionally served as a conduit for Chinese diplomacy with North Korea. A department official said last month that China's Communist Party continues to hold talks and maintain contacts with its North Korean counterpart, describing the two countries friendship as important for regional stability. China's new special envoy for North Korea, Kong Xuanyou, who took up his position in August, is not believed to have yet visited the country since he assumed the job. The Uber application on a smartphone during an Uber ride in Washington, D.C. A new report paints a clear picture of just how much money automakers, suppliers, tech companies and venture capital firms are spending to remake the auto industry. According to McKinsey & Company, a whopping $111 billion has been invested in mobility start-ups and technologies since 2010. More than 60 of those transactions carried a price tag of at least $1 billion. "We were a little surprised looking at the numbers," said Matthias Kasser, a partner with McKinsey. "The business models for making money on these technologies are not yet clear, but the companies feel they have to make these investments." The report says more than half the money invested since 2010 has been focused on car-sharing and autonomous-drive solutions. Since 2014, $9.6 billion has been spent on technologies related to car-sharing. Included in that figure is $500 million General Motors invested in Lyft to take a 10 percent stake in the ride-hailing company. Lyft, as well as Uber, Didi Chuxing and Grab have all collected massive investments as they push to capture market share, especially in China and the United States. "It's a bit of a land grab right now," said Kasser. "The ride-hailing companies still have to develop these markets even though it's still not clear how big ride-hailing will become." The growth in ride-hailing is expected to accelerate over the next decade as automakers and tech companies develop self-driving cars and robo-taxis. Waymo says in the near future its self-driving minivans will start giving paying customers rides in the Phoenix area. Meanwhile, General Motors, Uber, Delphi and other companies are also investing heavily to develop autonomous-drive vehicles. In short, they are all racing to be ready for a changing world of mobility, even though industry veterans admit it's impossible to know exactly when these investments will pay off. Questions? Comments? . But Washington first needs to help India strengthen its position in the region, experts said watch now President Donald Trump's landmark Asia trip, which concluded on Tuesday, revealed his growing reliance on India as a strategic partner in the region. But if Washington wants Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration to be at the core of its Asia policy, it must help New Delhi on issues crucial to its own future, experts said. Those include supporting Indian membership in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and assisting with New Delhi's other geopolitical concerns. India and the Indo-Pacific Trump's frequent use of the term "Indo-Pacific" as a replacement for "Asia-Pacific" the more widely used label in diplomatic and business circles revealed the level of importance Washington places on New Delhi. During a speech in Vietnam, the U.S. leader highlighted his desire for a "truly free and open Indo-Pacific," repeating the term after Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used it in earlier remarks. The label's usage underscores "India's geographic connection to the Asia-Pacific as a cornerstone of the Trump administration's strategic thinking," Alyssa Ayres, senior South Asia fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said in a note this week. The "free and open" part of Trump's statement also adds an ideological aspect to regional security and was widely seen as a reference to Beijing's behavior in the South China Sea. New Delhi, which isn't one of America's treaty allies but nonetheless enjoys a robust bilateral relationship based on shared democratic values, has a significant role to play in that. "Like it or not, or hide it or not, the term Indo-Pacific now seems to be a means of including India in the military calculations of U.S. strategy in the Pacific," Manoj Joshi, distinguished fellow at think tank Observer Research Foundation, said in a recent note. watch now New Delhi is also a major player in a newly-resurrected informal defense alliance aimed at offsetting Chinese maritime aggression. Consisting of the U.S., Australia, Japan and India, the partnership was first launched in 2007 in what many saw as a maneuver to contain rising Chinese power. The coalition, known as the "Quad," eventually fell apart but under Tokyo's initiative, resumed at the recent ASEAN Summit in Manila. The Quad's revival in itself isn't a major development, but combined with the White House's newly asserted focus on a free and open Indo-Pacific, Washington is "pointedly wooing New Delhi into what could well be a military alliance," Joshi said. The world's second-largest economy has expressed reservations about the Quad, with a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman saying Monday that regional cooperation should neither be "politicized" nor "exclusionary." Supporting India If Washington is going to rely on India as a strategic partner, it should help Modi's administration strengthen its position in Asia, said Ayres, a former deputy assistant secretary for South Asia at the U.S. State Department. The U.S. should expend diplomatic capital to make Indian membership into the influential Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation a reality, a move that could offset Chinese influence and "help the larger Indo-Pacific region balance its economic center of gravity better," she explained. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi Adnan Abidi | Reuters Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway stood by U.S. airlines in the third quarter, even as carriers were hit by three massive hurricanes, a spike in fuel prices and heavy selling of airline shares by other investors. But the value of Berkshire's stakes in Delta , American , United and Southwest fell $1.13 billion in the quarter, according to a filing. A year ago, Berkshire revealed a surprise bet on the sector that Buffett had previously shunned. But years of consolidation through post-bankruptcy mega-mergers and a decline in fuel prices has helped airlines rake in record profits. The Berkshire CEO told CNBC in February that airlines "had a bad first century." They're kind of like the Chicago Cubs, he said. "And they got that century out of the way, I hope." According to the filing, as of Sept. 30, Berkshire had 47 million shares in American, worth $2.23 billion; 53.1 million shares in Delta, worth $2.56 billion; 28.2 million shares in United, worth $1.72 billion, and 47.7 million shares in Southwest, worth $2.67 billion. While still profitable, U.S. airlines have seen profits slump amid fare wars and increasing costs. Some investors sold airline shares amid worries over executives' ability to both forecast and navigate higher costs, even though record numbers of travelers are taking to the skies. Shares of the carriers have declined sharply, even as the broader stock market rallied. Delta and Southwest shares fell about 10 percent apiece in the third quarter, while American and United lost 5.6 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Share prices fell further in the weeks after earnings reports. Only Southwest had a year-to-date gain as of Tuesday's close. The carriers' shares are still up sharply from when Berkshire disclosed its first investments in them a year ago. Airlines posted lower profits on the year in the past quarter, but both profits and margins will likely stabilize in 2018, said Jonathan Root, a senior credit officer at Moody's. "The wild card is oil," he said. U.S. jet fuel prices are up more than 36 percent over the past 12 months, according to S&P Global Platts. Buffett had been so opposed to investing in airlines in the past that he told shareholders in a 2007 note that "if a farsighted capitalist had been present at Kitty Hawk, he would have done his successors a huge favor by shooting Orville down." On October 29th, Juli Briskman was photographed giving the middle finger to President Donald Trump's motorcade during a weekend bike ride in Virginia. The photo quickly went viral. The Monday after the photo was taken, Briskman told her employer, government contractor Akima, that she was the cyclist pictured. The next day, she was fired. Akima said she was in violation of the company's social media policy because she had used the photo on her Facebook and Twitter accounts. The mother of two does not regret her decision as she told HuffPost "In some ways, I'm doing better than ever" but financially, Briskman must deal with the reality of being unemployed. Enter Rob Mello, of Hudson, Massachusetts. Mello created a GoFundMe campaign to support Briskman and her family, reports the New York Post. As of today, the campaign has raised over $100,000 from over 4,000 donors and has been shared more than 10,000 times. A downbeat outlook for oil demand from a top energy watchdog and fears of rising U.S. output sparked a sell-off in crude futures this week, but analysts say the market was already poised for a pullback. International benchmark and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude have both shed about $3 a barrel, or nearly 5 percent, from more than two-year highs struck last week. Brent was trading at $61.63 on Wednesday, while WTI was at $55.15, both down about 1 percent after posting their worst daily performance in about a month on Tuesday. It is a pullback from a recent spike fueled by signs of improving oil demand and a month of escalating tensions in the Middle East that threatened output from top OPEC producers. U.S. crude 15-day performance But on Tuesday, the International Energy Agency lowered its outlook for demand growth in both 2017 and 2018, in part because of warmer than expected winter weather. The energy policy adviser to developed nations knocked down its growth forecast by 100,000 barrels a day for each year, projecting that oil markets will remain oversupplied in the first half of 2018. Global demand will struggle to sop up rising output by producers outside the 14-member OPEC cartel, particularly from the United States, IEA said in its monthly oil report. Recent weekly figures show U.S. drillers are pumping near all-time high levels. "This is why, absent any geopolitical premium, we may not have seen a 'new normal' for oil prices," IEA concluded. That view contradicted OPEC's projection, which had been released one day earlier. The producer group raised its forecast for demand growth by 130,000 barrels a day in 2018. Adding to the commotion, oil futures got caught in a general commodities sell-off following weaker-than-expected economic data from China, which drives global commodity consumption. Despite public criticism about a lack of transparency in some practices, Ant Financial is doing things the right way, a senior executive at the company said Wednesday. The company which spun off from Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba to run the massive Alipay digital payments platform has seen healthy demand for its asset-backed securities, and that's proof enough that it's providing sufficient transparency to investors, the executive said. Asset-backed securities are financial instruments that are backed by underlying loans and other receivables. In this case, Ant Financial lends money to Alipay users and then packages those debts into asset-backed securities for sale to investors. "The demand for these securities is very healthy and continuing to expand," Douglas Feagin, senior vice president and head of global business at Ant Financial, told CNBC's "Street Signs." "That, at the end of the day, is the ultimate barometer of whether you're giving enough information to investors to invest." "I think seeing that demand is evidence that we're sharing the right kind of information with them," Feagin added. According to news reports, Moody's Investors Service previously said that companies like Ant Financial needed to be more transparent about how such asset-backed securities are created including their criteria for lending to underlying borrowers. is finally being forced to take a hands-on approach to tax collection. Next year the company will begin collecting sales tax for its third-party merchants in its home state of Washington, according to an announcement made this week through an Amazon sellers forum. Marketplace Tax Collection, the new service, will automatically "calculate, collect, and remit" sales tax for third-party merchants selling products to customers in certain states, Amazon said. Washington will be first because the state passed a law that goes into effect on Jan. 1, requiring all online marketplaces like Amazon to collect sales tax on behalf of its third-party sellers. This is new territory for Amazon, which to date has charged sales tax on products it sells directly to consumers while leaving it up to sellers on the platform to handle their own tax collection. Those transactions only require a tax if the merchant has a physical presence in the state of the buyer. Washington is removing that loophole and saying that all internet sales get taxed. Now, if an electronics retailer in Cleveland sells a TV to a customer in Seattle, Amazon will handle the relevant tax collection and payment, regardless of the location of the sender or the fulfillment center. 'Copycat this effort' Other states are likely to follow, said James Thomson, a partner at BuyBox Experts and former Amazon head of services. "With Amazon now agreeing to collect and remit sales taxes for Washington state, I expect every other state will aim to copycat this effort," Thomson said. It makes "it easier for states to collect sales tax for marketplace sales," he said. States including Minnesota and Rhode Island will likely become eligible for the service once their laws kick into effect in the coming years. As of now, sellers in states other than Washington are still "responsible for their tax obligations," Amazon said. As Amazon's influence grows, there's big money at stake. U.S. e-commerce sales are expected to reach $500 billion by 2018, according to Forrester. The Multistate Tax Commission estimates there's more than $2 billion in annual uncollected taxes on sales just from Amazon sellers that use the company's warehouses. "This concept of a mass mall that exists out there in the cloud it's taken the states a while to get their heads around it," said Scott Peterson, vice president of U.S. tax policy and government relations for tax software developer Avalara. "Momentum is building towards a lot of people collecting in the future that never collected before." watch now India Today accessed the resignation letter written by ex-minister Thomas Chandy to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. In the letter, Chandy claims that he is innocent and puts all the blame on media. By P S Gopikrishnan Unnithan: India Today accessed the resignation letter written by ex-minister Thomas Chandy to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan. In the letter, Chandy claims that he is innocent and puts all the blame on media. Here is the full transcript of the letter: Respected Chief Minister As you may be aware that I'm disappointed with this situation where I have to step down without committing any offence. You may also be aware about the false allegation of lake encroachment which was started off by a particular media and later taken up by the rest was proven baseless. advertisement However, there is a misconception in this regard among the general public. In this scenario to protect the image of Left Democratic Front which has been functioning well, I have taken this decision after discussing with NCP national leadership. The unexpected observations from the honourable Kerala High Court have forced me to resign. I will be approaching the Supreme Court to get this cleared. I believe that I can make a comeback after proving my innocence in Supreme Court. My party and I extend our whole hearted gratitude to you for your overwhelming help and support during my tenure as minister. Wishing you all success. Thomas Chandy WATCH VIDEO | It's better that Thomas Chandy steps down, Kerala High Court said on land grab scam --- ENDS --- AstraZeneca has achieved another milestone in rebuilding its drug portfolio with U.S. approval of a drug for severe asthma as the company battles to put patent losses on older medicines behind it. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to endorse benralizumab, which will be marketed under the name Fasenra, follows a positive recommendation for the product in Europe on Friday. Shares in AstraZeneca were 1 percent higher on Wednesday following the overnight news. Fasenra will compete with GlaxoSmithKline's Nucala and Teva's Cinqair two other injectable antibody drugs for severe asthma but AstraZeneca believes its product's potency and convenient dosing could give it an edge. The Anglo-Swedish company is also being competitive on cost, setting a long-term price below that of rivals at $28,000, or $33,000 in a maintenance year, depending on whether patients receive six or seven doses. Treatment in the first year will cost $38,000, as more doses are needed, which AstraZeneca said was in line with competing biologic drugs in severe asthma. While most investor focus is on AstraZeneca's cancer research, the company also has a long history in respiratory therapy that it plans to build on with Fasenra and another earlier-stage medicine called tezepelumab that is developing with Amgen. Modern biotech asthma drugs are offering new hope for severe asthma sufferers who continue to have breathing problems despite using modern inhalers. In the case of Fasrena, the number of severe asthma attacks was roughly halved in clinical tests. Fasrena is designed for patients with a particular kind of asthma driven by a type of white blood cells called eosinophils. AstraZeneca had previously said it hoped to win U.S. approval for the new drug before the end of the year. The FDA approval, announced late on Tuesday, clears Fasenra as an add-on treatment for severe asthma patients aged 12 years and older. "This is the first approval from our respiratory biologics portfolio and the latest in a series of significant milestones for our company as we deliver on our pipeline-driven transformation," said AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot. Last week, while presenting quarterly results, Soriot said the drugmaker was moving into a commercial execution mode, following the success of a number of new medicines in clinical development. In cancer, it has seen good results in 2017 with two new pills already on the market Lynparza and Tagrisso while its blood cancer drug Calquence won U.S. approval last month. Imfinzi, its closely watched immunotherapy medicine, failed in initial tests in one lung cancer setting but proved successful in another. Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to have the biggest technological impact on the oil and gas industry over the coming years, according to Microsoft 's oil and gas director for the Middle East and Africa. Speaking at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition Conference (ADIPEC) on Wednesday, Omar Saleh said technology disruptions over the past three years had been a "wake-up call" for all oil and gas firms. He said AI would be of "massive importance" over the next to five to 10 years, before adding that of any technology, AI would also have the most impact on the oil and gas sector overall. The U.S. shale revolution paved the way for a three-year oil price downturn that sent crude spiraling from more than $100 a barrel in 2014 to about $60 today. That has piled pressure on the oil-dependent economies of OPEC nations and forced a round of production cuts this year. On Tuesday, Baker Hughes GE CEO Lorenzo Simonelli said "continuous disruption" in the oil and gas industry should be viewed positively. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Omar Saleh believes AI will have the greatest technological impact on the oil and gas industry over the coming years. Also, Moody's said Wednesday "contractors that have not led major platform programs will have greater opportunity to do so" in the coming years. are likely to get delayed until after Workers at a Lockheed Martin facility in the Denver area inspecting the companys GPS III SV1 satellite in an environmentally clean testing chamber. Source: Lockheed Martin Three major Pentagon competitions worth around $30 billion are up for grabs in 2018 that have the potential to deliver significant boosts to the bottom line of the winning defense contractors. Analysts say the announcement on some of the largest defense contracts may get delayed until after President Donald Trump releases his fiscal 2019 budget in early February. That budget is expected to include more money devoted to modernization and the buildup of the military. Also, Moody's Investors Service analyst Bruce Herskovics said in a report Wednesday "contractors that have not led major platform programs will have greater opportunity to do so," given the Pentagon's push for more innovation from the defense industrial base and changes in procurement. It estimates tens of billions of dollars in contract opportunities may become available over the next five years from these "non-traditional bidders." Indeed, Moody's said the new players are "already securing a place on important programs," including Elon Musk's SpaceX having won Air Force contracts and Kratos recently getting a contract for development of an unmanned aerial drone system aircraft. But for 2018 there are still several large deals that have attracted interest from the larger defense primes and even some smaller companies. Air Force's GPS upgrade For the Air Force, there's a $10 billion contract that involves production of up to 22 next-generation GPS III new satellites. Lockheed Martin won the first phase of the global positioning satellite III contract in 2008 but suffered delays due to issues with the satellite's navigation payload. Frustrated by the delays, the Air Force opened the bidding for the second block of GPS III satellites although Lockheed still has a deal to build up to 10 satellites. The current program, which also includes navigation payload supplier Harris , is about three years behind schedule so it has put added pressure on the Air Force. In September, the Air Force declared the first GPS III space vehicle from Lockheed as "available for launch," and a Lockheed spokesman said there's an expectation it will get launched in 2018. In all, the Air Force wants a total of at least 32 satellites, all equipped with significantly improved anti-jamming capabilities and more accuracy than the previous generation of GPS satellites. The new satellites also are designed to increase military capabilities for war-fighting operations and the commercial market. "Lockheed has had some challenges, and so now the Air Force has done its best to level the playing field and has had Boeing , Lockheed, and Northrop Grumman kind of all are doing low-cost demonstration payload work for the next kind of increment," said Roman Schweizer, a defense analyst at Cowen. "What the Air Force would like to do is purchase the next 22 satellites through a full and open competition." Schweizer pointed out there's also a deal pending for Northrop to buy rocket maker Orbital ATK for just over $9 billion, a transaction he suggests shows Northrop's "desire to go be more in the space business. This [GPS contract] might be a perfect opportunity to do that." Northrop declined comment for this story. A Boeing spokesperson told CNBC on Wednesday the company "will assess the final request for proposal and decide our course of action." The Air Force told CNBC on Wednesday it's "in the final stages for approval to release the request for proposal, and intends to do so in the coming weeks." The Cowen analyst said he expects the next phase of the GPS III contract to get awarded in late 2018. Navy's next frigate For the Navy, a big ticket contract is a future guided missile frigate, or FFG(X) contract that could get awarded for design sometime next year. Schweizer said the warship could be "potentially more robust" than the Navy's current Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), which have suffered from some embarrassing breakdowns. The Navy wants to buy at least 20 ships, which the analyst said would be "certainly more expensive than the existing LCS class. So it's possible it might be a deal in the $15 billion range." Still, the new frigate idea is somewhat controversial although backers suggest it would help the Navy increase its ability to hunt down submarines and handle other missions, including surface warfare and air defense. "This is going to be our third attempt in the last 15 years to try and get right the issue of small surface combatant procurement," Ronald O'Rourke, a naval affairs expert at the Congressional Research Service testified at a Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee hearing in July. The Navy released details on the proposed frigate over the summer, saying it would "consider existing parent designs for a small surface combatant that can be modified." The Navy is expected to pick at least three bidders to do the initial concept design sometime next year and then award a design and construction contract sometime in 2020. Makers of the LCS vessels, including Fincantieri Marinette Marine and Austal USA, are expected to participate in the competition as well as other advanced combatant shipbuilders such as General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls . The Navy is set to hold an industry day event on Friday in Washington to discuss the FFG(X) and provide more information on requirements and objectives to interested contractors. Army's firepower answer WSJ Ceo Council Video A meeting of CEOs might seem to be a friendly gathering place for President Donald Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, former president of . But at a gathering of chief executives hosted yesterday by the Wall Street Journal, business leaders called into question one of Cohn's top arguments for slashing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent. When one of the Journal's editors asked the crowd if they planned to up their capital expenditure if the GOP's tax plan went through, only a smattering raised their hands. "Why aren't the other hands up?" Cohn asked. Cohn has said the tax cuts Republicans have proposed will be paid for entirely through economic growth. The cuts are projected to cost at least $1.5 trillion. "We think we can drive a lot of business back to America, we can drive jobs back to America, we can make ourselves very competitive," he . Richard Cordray, the embattled head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said Wednesday he will step down before the end of the month. Cordray had been under fire from congressional Republicans almost from the time he took over the bureau, which emanated from the Dodd-Frank reforms following the financial crisis. He announced the resignation in an email to employees. "As I have said many times, but feel just as much today as I ever have, it has been a joy of my life to have the opportunity to serve our country as the first director of the Consumer Bureau by working alongside all of you here," he wrote. His departure was not unexpected. Sources earlier this month told CNBC that President Donald Trump was ready to sack Cordray but was afraid of turning him into a Democratic hero. The White House's reaction to Cordray's departure was reserved. "The administration will announce an acting director and the president's choice to replace Mr. Cordray at the appropriate time," Raj Shah, deputy press secretary, said in a statement. In addition to the political fire in Washington, Cordray has long been speculated as a potential candidate for Ohio governor. He made no mention of his plans in the email. The CFPB has been a sore spot among GOP leaders who view the bureau as the poster child for postcrisis regulatory overreach. On the other hand, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) praised Cordray for "standing up to abusive financial institutions." "Richard Cordray is a true champion for American consumers. Under his outstanding leadership, the Consumer Bureau has made the financial marketplace stronger and fairer for hardworking Americans across the country," Waters said in a statement. Former FDIC Chair Sheila Bair said Cordray's biggest accomplishments will be i reshaping mortgage lending standards, stronger enforcement and a greater watchdog presence over big Wall Street banks. "None of that consumer focus was really present in our bank regulatory system prior to the CFPB's creation," Bair said on CNBC's "Power Lunch." The full text of Cordray's message to employees: Dear Colleagues, I wanted to share with each of you directly what I have told the senior leadership in the past few days, which is that I expect to step down from my position here before the end of the month. As I have said many times, but feel just as much today as I ever have, it has been a joy of my life to have the opportunity to serve our country as the first director of the Consumer Bureau by working alongside all of you here. Together we have made a real and lasting difference that has improved people's lives, notably: $12 billion in relief recovered for nearly 30 million consumers; stronger safeguards against irresponsible mortgage practices that caused the financial crisis and hurt millions of Americans; giving people a voice by handling over 1.3 million complaints that led to problems getting fixed for vast numbers of individuals, and creating new ways to bring financial education to the public so that people can take more control over their economic lives. None of this could have happened without all of us being dedicated to pull together in supporting and protecting people and making every consumer count. I will always be immensely proud of you and what you have done. At the same time, there is always more work that lies ahead. That would be true at any point, of course, and one thing I have tried to reinforce this year is that the Consumer Bureau is far more than its director. I am confident that you will continue to move forward, nurture this institution we have built together, and maintain its essential value to the American public. And I trust that new leadership will see that value also and work to preserve it perhaps in different ways than before, but desiring, as I have done, to serve in ways that benefit and strengthen our economy and our country. My gratitude and appreciation for what you mean to me and to our nation is deep and lasting, and I will be taking the opportunity to make that clear to you in person over the days ahead. Thank you! RC With reporting by CNBC's Michelle Fox. In order for financial technology to grow, some countries are giving firms freedom to experiment, lifting the burdens of tight regulation. Switzerland, for one, has introduced a so-called regulatory sandbox, within which small fintech firms can play without regulation. "We will try to introduce the regulatory system that enables the market to grow without being hindered," Jorg Gasser, Switzerland state secretary for international financial matters told CNBC. "[Fintech firms] are able to accept 1 million Swiss francs ($1.01 million) from their clients without any regulation. And once they grow out of that sandbox, the regulation will be according to their size," Gasser said. Switzerland also offers a tailor-made fintech license, which is far less taxing on small firms compared to a banking license. Gasser explained that it's "easier to handle and less expensive to establish." Gasser was speaking on the sidelines of the Singapore Fintech Festival, which has brought over 25,000 participants to the Lion City. Singapore's central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, also launched a fintech regulatory sandbox last year. Since then, the MAS has received 30 applications from firms wanting to test their product without strict regulations. Singapore and Switzerland have many similarities according to Gasser, which makes them ideal fintech hubs. "We are both neighbors of very important economic jurisdictions like China, and [the European Union] for Switzerland. We are extremely open, very well connected, we have top notch educational systems, infrastructure is very good," he said Gasser said Switzerland could take a few lessons from Singapore's fintech operations. "What we can learn from the situation here is the dynamics: The situation here is changing rapidly, fintech is blooming, flourishing," he said. Alphabet's Google reclaimed on Tuesday its spot as the default search engine on Mozilla's Firefox internet browser in the United States and other regions as the browser maker stunned Verizon Communications ' Yahoo by canceling their deal. Google confirmed the move but declined, along with Mozilla, to disclose revenue-sharing terms of the multiyear agreement. Google's growing spending to be the primary search provider on apps and devices such as Apple's iPhone has been a major investor concern. Google will be Firefox's default search provider on desktop and mobile in the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan, said Denelle Dixon, Mozilla's chief business and legal officer. The decision was "based on a number of factors including doing what's best for our brand, our effort to provide quality web search and the broader content experience for our users," Dixon said. "We believe there are opportunities to work with Oath and Verizon outside of search." Yahoo had been the default in the United States, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Firefox did not have an official partner in Canada. Verizon said Mozilla terminating the Yahoo agreement caught it off guard. "We are surprised that Mozilla has decided to take another path, and we are in discussions with them regarding the terms of our agreement," said Charles Stewart, a spokesman for Verizon's Oath unit, which oversees Yahoo. The search provider switch came as Mozilla announced Firefox Quantum, a faster, new version of the browser that company says is 30 percent lighter than Google Chrome in that it uses less computer memory. For a decade until 2014, Google had been Firefox's worldwide search provider. Google then remained the default in Europe while regional rivals such as Yahoo, Russia's Yandex and China's Baidu replaced it elsewhere. Former Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer won a five-year contract with Mozilla in 2014 when Firefox and Google's Chrome browser were battling for users. Chrome's U.S. market share has since doubled to about 60 percent, according to data from analytics provider StatCounter, with Mozilla, Apple, and Microsoft browsers capturing the rest. Yahoo paid Mozilla $375 million in 2015 and said that it would pay at least the same amount annually through 2019, according to regulatory filings. Yahoo and Google aim to recoup placement fees by selling ads alongside search results and collecting valuable user data. Google said in October that contract changes drove a 54 percent increase in such fees to $2.4 billion in the third quarter. A wide swath of Americans just sent a clear message to the Federal Election Commission: Digital political ads should come with notices saying who purchased them, as is the case on TV and in print. Yet the tweets of President Donald Trump and others could remain free from these disclosures, based on a proposal Twitter floated to the commission. Today the political ads that appear on mobile devices and PCs don't require a disclaimer saying who purchased them. Ads on traditional media, on the other hand, come with long disclosures that ensure voters have information about who's behind issue-based ads. More than two dozen members of Congress and a broad range of political groups, individuals and companies posted comments to the FEC's notice that it was considering ending the exemption. The commission's Oct. 10 move reopened a debate that had been dormant since 2011, when Congress granted the current exemptions after digital ad sellers argued that the small size of mobile screens made such disclaimers impractical. Yet revelations of how Russian propaganda groups placed divisive ads online using Google , Facebook and Twitter during the 2016 election campaign suggest the time has come to close that loophole, some of these groups say. "Recent developments have highlighted several weaknesses of the current system. One ... is the ability of foreign actors to ... improperly influence U.S. elections," wrote Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), which first lobbied against the exemption six years ago. Senate Republicans just announced that the repeal of the individual mandate (in the form of reducing the penalty tax to zero) will be in the Senate Finance Committee's version of tax reform. The individual mandate has never been successful toward the objective of attracting people to the program. There are much better ways to do that. But killing the mandate while simultaneously opening up the market to cheaper stripped down alternatives would combine to create unintended consequences the Republicans haven't appeared to comprehend. Recently, President Trump encouraged his administration to craft regulations that would enable insurance companies to sell short-term medical policies with a duration of 12 months. These short-term medical policies would not have to comply with the Obamacare benefit mandates. They could exclude people with pre-existing conditions. Today, buying one of these policies would trigger the individual mandate tax penalty because a person had not purchased qualified coverage. But, if the individual mandate tax penalty is repealed as part of the Republican tax bill there would be no such penalty to buy one of these policies. I could easily see the individual health insurance market bifurcated into a sick and healthy pool because of these changes: The sickest taking advantage of the guarantee issue protections in the Obamacare compliant market. The healthiest buying a succession of these "short-term" 12 month policies while guaranteed to be able to opt back into the Obamacare market when they got sick. In fact, I could see these "short-term" policies sold on a calendar year basis so those prohibited from renewing, because of a recently acquired condition, would be able to conveniently opt into the Obamacare guaranteed insurability market when their short-term coverage expired right in line with the annual open enrollment. I can envision these "short-term" policies offering a fairly comprehensive medical and hospital benefit set even though they did not cover all of the mandated benefits. These policies could also be much cheaper by excluding things like pregnancy and mental health and substance abuse coverage. I could easily see these policies costing half of what the Obamacare compliant policies cost. So, the healthy would have the best of both worldscheap and even arguably attractive coverage while still being guaranteed to be able to opt into a much more comprehensive Obamacare policy every January 1st if they got sick. It's not hard to see what would happen. We would have two risk pools: The very expensive Obamacare compliant risk pool with only the very sickest left in it, and The very cheap "short-term" policy risk pool with the healthiest people. And, the unsubsidized cost for those who acquired a pre-existing condition and were forced to opt back into the Obamacare compliant market, would be simply astronomical. Remember, 40% of those in the individual health insurance market make too much to qualify for a premium subsidy. In other words, this scheme works much better than what we have todayuntil you get sick. And, everyone ultimately acquires a pre-existing condition. A health insurance system that works only while you are healthy is not a health insurance system. Obamacare is a disaster because it only works best for the sickest and those with the lowest incomes. As a result, the healthy have disproportionately stayed away driving the costs up to unaffordable levels for those who don't get the big subsidies. And, only 40% of those who are subsidy eligible are now participating. This Republican scheme would work best for the healthiest. It would also work well for the poor because the premium subsidy system would protect them from the even higher costs inside of Obamacare. But the Republican scheme would be devastating for those in the unsubsidized middle class who would not be able to afford coverage once they got sick. Ironically, the people the Republican scheme would hurt the most would be those in the middle class (the unsubsidized) that have been most vocal in calling on the Republicans to fix the system. Commentary by Robert Laszewski, the president of Health Policy and Strategy Associates. He has 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, serving as a chief operating officer for nine of those years, before beginning his Washington, D.C. policy- and market-consulting business. This article first appeared on Robert Laszewski's blog. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. British bakery Greggs has apologized for substituting Jesus for a sausage roll in a promotional image for its Christmas advent calendar. The image seemed to cause a stir online. Simon Richards, chief executive of center-right pressure group The Freedom Association, called for a boycott of Greggs' "sick anti-Christian" calendar. Tweet Another said he was "glad" Christians condemned the company, claiming: "No other religion would stand for that nonsense." Tweet But others were more supportive of the firm, with one telling those angered by the image to "get a grip." Tweet Another user took a more jocular approach. Tweet Responding to the social media furor, a Greggs spokesperson said in a statement: "We're really sorry to have caused any offence, this was never our intention." Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook. Narsinghpur district collector Sameer Lakra said imposition of section 144 would imply ban on posting and forwarding of any message on social media that is objectionable in nature or has communal overtones. By Hemender Sharma: Apprehensive of a Mandsaur-like protest by sugarcane farmers in Narsinghpur, the Madhya Pradesh government has banned residents from posting or forwarding provocative messages on social media. Sugarcane farmers who are not happy with the price that they are getting for their produce have been galvanising support on social media for the past one week for a soon-to-be launched protest. advertisement According to Narsinghpur district collector Sameer Lakra, imposition of section 144 would imply ban on posting and forwarding of any message on social media that is objectionable in nature or has communal overtones. The order has been issued under section 144 subsection 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1973. According to the order issued by Lakra, the ban would be applicable on Facebook, Twitter, Hike, WhatsApp and other social media platforms and in case of groups the administrators would be held liable. In the same order, the district collector has also banned all kinds of hoardings, banners, flags and objectionable wall writings within the revenue boundaries of Narsinghpur. A complete ban has been imposed on sloganeering around public and private properties within the district. According to the farmers, they are not getting a fair price for their produce and the traders have further lowered purchase price after the launch of the government's Bhavantar scheme. "The bhavantar scheme is ill conceived as the government claims it will transfer the difference between the selling price and the support price announced by the government directly to the farmers account. Firstly traders in connivance with government officials are bringing down their purchase prices and pocketing huge profits and secondly we do not know when the difference will actually get transferred," an agitated farmer told India Today. In June 2017, six farmers were killed in police action in Mandsaur after protests turned violent. The farmers in Mandsaur were demanding a support price for onions and eventually the government was forced to purchase onions at Rs 8 per kg. Onions worth over Rs 700 crore that was purchased at the announced support price were later allowed to rot in the open. --- ENDS --- House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that Roy Moore should bow out of Alabama's Senate race after sexual misconduct allegations. "The guy should step aside," Ryan told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "These allegations are absolutely credible allegations, so the guy should step aside. If he cares about the people and values he claims to care about, then in faithfulness to those people and those values he should step aside. It's just that simple." The Wisconsin Republican made similar comments earlier this week. Moore, the 70-year-old GOP nominee for a special Senate race in Alabama, was accused by a woman of initiating a sexual encounter when she was 14 and Moore was 32. Three other women said Moore pursued them when they were 16 to 18. Their accounts were published last week by The Washington Post. Another woman alleged earlier this week that Moore tried to force her to engage in oral sex four decades ago. Moore has denied any wrongdoing, calling allegations "completely false and misleading." He has threatened to sue the Post. Other Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have called on Moore to withdraw from the Dec. 12 special election immediately. Moore, who was backed in the primary by former Trump aide Steve Bannon, defeated incumbent Sen. Luther Strange, who was supported by the president and McConnell. In October, Hudson's Bay Company sold its Lord and Taylor's flagship building to WeWork Property Advisors and equity to Rhone Capital in a creative deal set to give the company much needed liquidity. Now, activist fund Land & Buildings Investment Management is trying to stop at least part the transaction. Earlier this month, Land & Buildings applied with the Ontario Securities Commission to request a review of the Rhone sale, according to documents seen by CNBC. The fund is asking the commission to review the conditional approval granted by Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) for the deal. Unless it grants of a stay of TSX's approval, it will request an urgent hearing. Hudson's Bay said in a statement on Wednesday the company "believes that there is no merit to this appeal, particularly in light of the fact that written consent in support of the equity investment, from sophisticated long-term shareholders representing well over 50 percent of HBC's outstanding common shares." Land & Buildings previously said, the fund "believes a majority of the non-insider shareholders should have a chance to vote on the material and dilutive Rhone transaction, and should have the full information." As structured, the deal sought to sell the Lord & Taylor Fifth Avenue building for $850 million (1.075 billion Canadian dollars) to WeWork Property Advisors, while a minority stake of preferred stock would be sold to Rhone Capital for $500 million (CA$632 million). The deal is set to close as early as Wednesday. At issue for Land & Buildings is the equity component of the deal. The activist fund argues it was dilutive and the company did not get sufficient shareholder approval. It says the company did not create an independent board committee to evaluate the offer. The minority stake, if held to maturity, will ultimately represent nearly a third of the company. The preferred stock was sold at roughly the same price of its common stock. Because preferred stock has special protections compared to common stock, it usually fetches a 30 percent premium, though that premium can vary. It also is requiring Rhone to vote with certain board members for a period of time, says the fund. Hudson's Bay is seeking to have the TSX decision confirmed and the appeal dismissed on an expedited basis. It is proceeding with filling out regulatory requirements to close the Rhone deal. Regardless of outcome, the new legal tussle highlights the uncertainty around the way in which Hudson's Bay has put together a retail empire that includes Lord and Taylor, Gilt and Germany's Galeria Kaufhof department store chain. Financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Cuban just that at the 2017 New York Times DealBook conference . But what does the Cuban family do with its money? Billionaire Mark Cuban has weighed in on how the typical person should probably invest their money: in a cheap S&P 500 index fund . "What do I invest in? Cash, treasuries, municipalities stuff that I've had forever," said the star of ABC's "Shark Tank." Plus, "a lot of private companies because I try to really support entrepreneurs." As for his largest holdings, "Amazon is now my biggest stock holding and Netflix is second," Cuban told Sorkin. "Just because of their growth. I've had them for a long time. I don't switch things around. I don't move it around a lot." That makes sense, given that the golden rule of investing is to think long-term and leave your investments alone. As Warren Buffett says, "If you aren't willing to own a stock for ten years, don't even think about owning it for ten minutes." What Cuban didn't mention are digital currencies like bitcoin and ethereum. While they may be absent from his portfolio, he has said it's OK to invest up to 10 percent of your savings in these types of high-risk investments. But if you do, Cuban said, be prepared to lose your money. Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook! Don't miss: Mark Cuban and Warren Buffett agree on the No. 1 way to guarantee you'll never get rich Morgan Stanley is bullish on its business in China as initial public offering activity there picked up after slowing the year before, a top executive at the investment bank said Wednesday. Gokul Laroia, Asia Pacific co-CEO of Morgan Stanley, told CNBC that what he is most positive about when it came to deal flows and IPO activity in the coming year is the quality of public listing activity in the region. "Deals coming out of China and the reason I talk about China is because it's the principal driver of this activity reflect the changing nature of the Chinese economy," Laroia said on the sidelines of the Morgan Stanley Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore. China has attempted to rebalance its economy over the past few years by transitioning from a factory-led model of growth to one that's driven by services and consumption, or what is often referred to as its "new economy." That shift has been reflected in the types of businesses with which the investment bank has been talking. "We're in discussions with over a hundred companies at this point in time, from education, health care, content, online retail, financial technology. So the mix has changed," Laroia said. "And the one thing that's changed in addition to the mix is that the scale of these businesses [is] much larger than we've ever seen before. So I think there will be a really robust supply over the next couple of years," he said, referring to the trend as "new economy with scale." The global number of IPOs this year has increased after slowing in 2016, with stock exchanges in greater China accounting for the most listings globally by volume, according to a quarterly EY report in September. As for the broader Chinese economy, Laroia said that, even though credit tightening will have an impact on China's growth, the country's economic outlook was positive. "Growth will slow, but I've always maintained that the quality of growth is much more important than the quantum of growth," he said. "I think we've seen a hard landing in China. It happened a couple years ago when nominal growth went from 12 percent to 5 percent. We had a deflationary environment in China for three or four years. We've come out of that, so the quality of growth now in China [is] a lot better," Laroia said. Isabel Diaz Tinoco (L) and Jose Luis Tinoco speak with Otto Hernandez, an insurance agent from Sunshine Life and Health Advisors, as they shop for insurance under the Affordable Care Act at a store setup in the Mall of Americas on November 1, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Enrollments on the federal Obamacare marketplace were 46 percent higher in the first two weeks of November from the same period last year, officials said Wednesday. A total of 1,478,250 people signed up on HealthCare.gov since Nov. 1, the start of open enrollment in individual health insurance plans, according to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Last year, 1,008,218 people signed up in the first two weeks. CMS also reported that the number of people applying for coverage and visiting HealthCare.gov was sharply higher than in the same period last year. The brisk pace of sign-ups and customer interest comes despite fears by Obamacare advocates that enrollment would significantly decrease because of hostile actions by the Trump administration. Among other things, the administration has slashed budgets for Affordable Care Act outreach and advertising and ordered federal health officials not to participate in state events that encourage enrollment. Advocates also are concerned that sign-ups will be tamped down by the fact that the enrollment season on the federal exchange is only about half the length of last season. The new enrollment tally comes a day after Senate Republican leaders said they will seek repeal of Obamacare's individual mandate, which requires most Americans to have some form of health insurance coverage during the year or pay a tax penalty. A leading Obamacare advocacy group, Get America Covered, on Wednesday said that the average daily rate of enrollments on HealthCare.gov is 60 percent higher than it was last year. That statistic takes into account the fact that the 11 day reporting period by CMS this year is one day shorter than the enrollment snapshop released for the first two weeks last year. This year, an average of 134,386 people per day are signing up, compared to 84,018 people per day last year, according to Get America Covered, which is run by two former Obama administration health officials. The group said that the widespread availability of "zero dollar" Obamacare plans is likely boosting enrollment so far this year. Most people who buy coverage on an Obamacare exchange qualify for federal subsidies that reduce their premiums, and more people than ever are able to buy a plan that will personally cost them nothing in premiums this season because of that financial assistance. The enrollment snapshot released by CMS on Wednesday details sign-ups on HealthCare.gov, the federal exchange that sells individidual plans in the 39 states that do not operate their own Obamacare marketplaces. Not all state-based marketplaces have released their own tallies. But California, the biggest state-run exchange, earlier reported that enrollments on the first day of sign-ups were 25 percent higher than last year. While the Covered California has not provided further updates, a leading seller of Obamacare coverage in the Los Angeles area, LA Care Health Plan, told CNBC on Wednesday its enrollment this sign-up season is 40 percent higher than last season. About 7,000 of those customers are new enrollees, with roughly 3,500 existing customers, according to the company. Maryland said its enrollment pace was double last year's in the first week; Washington state reported 53 percent higher enrollment in the first eight days; and Rhode Island saw five times the number of enrollees in the first week from last year. CMS said 876,788 people selected an insurance plan on HealthCare.gov from Nov. 5 through last Saturday. Of those people, 208,397 were new customers, and 668,391 were returning customers. Cumulatively, 345,719 new customers have selected plans on HealthCare.gov since enrollment began Nov. 1. And 1,232,531 customers have renewed coverage on that exchange. The number of consumers on applications for coverage submitted to HealthCare.gov was 2.92 million in the first two weeks, or about 42 percent higher than the number of consumers on applications during the first two weeks of last year's enrollment period. The number of unique users on the federal website was 5.8 million in the first two weeks of this season, or 28 percent higher than the number of users last year. Open enrollment on HealthCare.gov ends Dec. 15. The sign-up season is longer, and ends on various days, on most state-run exchanges. People who do not have insurance coverage during 2018 are subject to a tax penalty that is the higher of $695 per adult or 2.5 percent of household income. However, many uninsured people can avoid the penalty if they qualify for a wide range of exemptions. As if the Republican tax reform efforts weren't facing enough hurdles and moving parts already, the Senate Finance Committee has put repealing Obamacare into Senate GOP bill as well. Yes, that would be the same Obamacare repeal idea that crashed and burned over the summer for the GOP asthree Republican Senators joined Democrats to defeat it. So is the GOP leadership in the Senate deliberately trying to derail its crucial tax reform efforts by shoving an already proven loser into the bill? Or is this a case of the Republicans finally realizing that their tax and health insurance agendas are and always have been one in the same? Call it "The Revenge of Chief Justice John Roberts"... or at least "The Lesson of John Roberts, Five Years Later." That's because it was Roberts who nailed it by accurately calling Obamacare a tax in his landmark decision upholding the Affordable Care Act in 2012. And until now, Republicans have been clueless about the opportunities that distinction gave them in their fight against Obamacare and beyond. Because not only is the Obamacare insurance mandate a tax, it's a tax that hits the middle class and lower middle class hard. That's especially true for people in high-cost states and cities where higher incomes disqualify them from getting subsidies to buy Obamacare plans. Younger and healthier Americans are required by the ACA to shell out their money for higher priced premiums than the old major medical plans that used to be popular for their demographic. The idea of the mandate is to get more of them signed up and paying for health insurance so the insurance companies have more resources to cover older and/or sicker patients Obamacare requires them to cover. Now, there is an argument to be made that those young and healthy people still should sign up for Obamacare plans. For many of them, the added upfront costs would be worth it once they do get sick or get into an accident. But even with the current spike in Obamacare signups, the fact is that the upfront cost is still a big turnoff to millions more healthy Americans than the CBO and a lot of the other so-called experts predicted. And that sticker shock has always been the ticket for the GOP to repeal the ACA. Now that the premium sticker shock is being framed in the language of tax cuts, the Republicans may have a winning message. Obamacare has always sounded like a tax, acted like a tax, and helped one group of Americans at the expense of another just like so many other taxes throughout our history. The fact that it's taken so long for the so-called anti-tax Republicans to realize this and focus their anti-Obamacare message along those lines is ridiculous. Now, based on the statements we heard Tuesday night, the GOP seems to be getting it not only as a matter of policy but by using the right terminology as well. Here's what Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said that was particularly enlightening: "Repealing the mandate pays for more tax cuts for working families and protects them from being fined by the IRS for not being able to afford insurance that Obamacare made unaffordable in the first place. I urge the House to include the mandate repeal in their tax legislation." And then Texas Republican Senator John Cornyn put it even more plainly and effectively by saying, "We're going to repeal the tax on poor Americans." Cotton and Cornyn are finally making a winning argument against Obamacare by referring to it as a tax and making it a matter of class, fines, affordability, and -- worst of all -- the IRS. This is a winning message compared to the endless cries of how Obamacare deprives people of their right to be uninsured, will lead to rationing, and is a government takeover of health care. No matter how accurate those other arguments may be, they sound too much like scare tactics and pale in comparison with a simple presentation of Obamacare as a costly tax burden to those who can't afford it. There's a refreshing bit of honesty here as the Republicans are realizing that they can't present a major tax reform bill to the public without tackling the major tax that is Obamacare along with it. But won't including the repeal in the tax reform bill doom it to failure? After seeing what happened in July, the knee jerk answer is "yes." But the strategy could easily produce a different outcome for two reasons. First, the renewed effort to present the Obamacare repeal as tax relief for the middle class and lower middle class could be what it takes to get Republican senators like Maine's Susan Collins and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski on board. The lower middle class makes up a very large part of both of those senators' constituencies and including the repeal in the tax reform bill suddenly presents many of their voters a new tax, and paperwork, break. Before now, Obamacare was being referred to more as a government program and not so much as a tax even by Republicans. Showing Collins and Murkowski how the ACA hurts a lot of their own voters may not get them to flip their votes on the repeal, but it at least improves the odds. And since it's likely their objections to the repeal have much more to do with Medicaid than Obamacare, there's always been a chance to make a deal with Collins and Murkowski based on a separate deal on Medicaid. The second reason is that the other Republican who voted against the repeal, Arizona Senator John McCain, has been a much stronger supporter of the tax reform plan. Lumping the Obamacare repeal into this bill and essentially letting McCain know he can't have one without the other could also move him back on the side of the majority of his party. And the on-the-fence on tax reform Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is the one who made the first call to include the repeal in the bill. Doing so virtually guarantees his support. No, this move hardly means that tax reform and the Obamacare repeal are a lock. But it does breathe new life into a repeal effort that seemed doomed and helps the still mostly rudderless congressional Republicans hone their message. And when you consider the cases of people like Senators Paul, Collins, and Murkowski, shoving an Obamacare tax repeal into the reform bill is far from the suicidal move some pundits already believe it is. But this move does prove that Chief Justice Roberts' gift to the Republicans fighting taxes and Obamacare has finally been accepted by at least the Republican Senate. Let's see if the rest of the GOP and a critical mass of the voting public follows suit. Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny. For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter. I consider myself a Thanksgiving guy. It has a special place in my heart as a holiday that's both uniquely American and food-centric as it is affordable. The average Thanksgiving meal for 10 people costs about $50, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. That's a taste-to-dollar ratio I can get behind. But when I found out that the Old Homestead Steakhouse in New York City offers a Thanksgiving package that costs more than 1,500 times that at a total price of $76,000 I was intrigued to say the least. "When you spend $76,000 on a Thanksgiving dinner, you're not just buying dinner, you're creating memories," explains Old Homestead co-owner Marc Sherry. Though the price includes a Thanksgiving "experience" that goes beyond just food (more on that later), Old Homestead's executive chef, Juan "Louie" Acosta, cooked the exclusive dinner for CNBC Make It. When I arrived to the table, the restaurant's feast was showcased with da Vinci-like beauty. The full spread for the $76,000 Homestead Thanksgiving experience is a sight to be seen. CNBC | Mary Stevens The dinner which boasts everything from $475-per-pound imported Japanese Wagyu beef lollipops to gravy infused with $3,300 special reserve Pappy Van Winkle bourbon features only the best. "What we focused on is using the most expensive ingredients that we possibly could find from all over the world," he says of his restaurant's over-the-top menu, now in its fourth annual iteration. "Not only will you eat well, you will drink the finest." At a price tag roughly $15,000 higher than the median household income in the U.S., I guess you'd expect as much. I settled into the back booth and prepared to eat the equivalent of my outstanding student loan debt. CNBC's Zack Guzman mentally prepares for the world's finest Thanksgiving feast. CNBC | Mary Stevens The dinner starts with $100 imported king oysters with an Opus One wine mignonette sauce. At a size that dwarfs your palm, they are the kind of oysters that test whether you are truly an oyster fan. A chef pours Opus One mignonette over $100 imported king oysters. CNBC | Beatriz Bajuelos That experience is quickly followed with a plate of inch-thick, $225-per-pound smoked bacon slabs, cured from an imported Japanese black boar, topped with an orange marmalade glaze made from $75 Dekopon oranges and an $1,800 special reserve bottle of cognac. Why someone would buy a $75 orange made more sense after the sweetness hit my tongue, that is until the saltiness of the bacon took over. The last of the non-traditional Thanksgiving flavor comes from a staple that the steakhouse has become known for: its prized Japanese Wagyu beef. Bite-size lollipops of the $475-per-pound meat are served with a peppercorn au poivre dipping sauce infused with $4,800 Louis XIII cognac. Prized Wagyu beef is on the Homestead Steakhouse permanent menu, but served here in lollipop fashion with a peppercorn au poivre dipping sauce infused with $4,800 Louis XIII cognac. CNBC | Beatriz Bajuelos "It tastes like butter, it eats like butter. It's like the Fourth of July in your mouth," Sherry says. Why use a rival holiday to communicate the flavor? After the first bite it all made sense. Fireworks. Eating a $425-per-pound Wagyu beef lollipop will make you question everything you thought you knew about meat and food as a concept. CNBC | Mary Stevens But those delicacies are not what make Thanksgiving. It's all about the turkey, the stuffing and the potatoes. Needless to say this was not the Butterball I was accustomed to. The organic, $105-per-pound turkey, sourced from a free-range farm in upstate New York, was basted in $17-per-ounce Italian olive oil and seasoned with spices from the Middle East. Whipped sweet potatoes were topped with $1,600-per-ounce black caviar from the Caspian Sea. Even the traditional mashed potatoes boasted the flair of $455-per-pound imported Swedish moose cheese. Caviar-topped sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes with moose cheese complement the organic turkey that costs $105 per pound. CNBC | Beatriz Bajuelos "You could take mozzarella cheese, you could take cheddar," Sherry says, "but that's not what we're doing here, these mashed potatoes are rich." The same could be said of the stuffing a mix of $54-per-pound foie gras, the very same Wagyu beef and sourdough that's too good to be from here. "For $76,000, I cannot chop up white bread and put that in the stuffing, so what we did is we have a $46 sourdough loaf that we imported from the UK," Sherry explains. My mother imports her stuffing from a box of Stove Top. The base of the Old Homestead stuffing is a $46 loaf of sourdough flown in from the U.K. Its kicker is a foie gras that cost $54 per pound. CNBC | Beatriz Bajuelos Even the cranberry sauce something not normally even worthy of taking up space on my Thanksgiving plate had me scooping for more. Its flavors are born from a mash of organic cranberries and a $1,750 French Cabernet Sauvignon reduction. For good measure, the staff adds an extra dash of $1,800 orange liquor. As I smack the table in sheer ecstasy and have a strawberry dipped in a sabayon cream sauce made with a vintage 1968 Cristal champagne, I begin to question everything I thought I knew about America's beloved holiday. But is it really worth $76,000? Well, the magic doesn't stop at dinner. "Not only is this a culinary extravaganza, it's a cornucopia of inedible amenities," Sherry says of his restaurant's over-the-top tradition. "With this great dinner comes some great things." Marc Sherry says Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday. As the mastermind behind the most expensive way to celebrate Thanksgiving, that would make sense. CNBC | Nate Skid Each year, those things change. A Thanksgiving dinner in 2015 featured a 2-carat emerald-cut diamond engagement ring hidden in the stuffing at the base of the turkey which one customer used to propose to his girlfriend at the restaurant. This year's dinner instead features four tickets to Hamilton, limousine service, a two-night luxury suite overlooking New York City's Central Park at the Mandarin Oriental, a $7,500 shopping spree on Fifth Avenue and a watch from Swiss manufacturer Ulysse Nardin that costs more than $20,000. While a list like that sounds gimmicky, I realize that's not why Sherry finds so much joy in offering the world's most expensive Thanksgiving experience. Like myself, he's a Thanksgiving person. "I'm in love with the holiday. I'm in love with the creativity of a $76,000 dinner. I'm proud of my staff and the way they put it out," Sherry says, adding that his team spent a couple months putting the experience together last year before seven customers bought in. "I love seeing the people buy this, I love seeing the expression on their face." As I pushed the final plate away and re-contemplated Thanksgiving as a holiday, I realized something was missing the faces of my friends and family around the table. While my mother cooks stuffing out of a box, I look forward to it every year. It's tradition. Just like the tradition of Thanksgiving extravagance Sherry and his brother Greg have created at the restaurant they've co-owned together since taking it over from their grandfather nearly 50 years ago. And while the whole thing seems expensive at $76,000, I can't argue that the night won't create memories. Nor can I say I wouldn't want to eat at the Homestead Thanksgiving table again if I am lucky enough to have the chance. Maybe your table, like mine, lacks imported meats from around the world or thousand-dollar bottles of liquor. But that's perfectly fine if you realize even at the end of the priciest Thanksgiving experience in the world that sharing the experience with loved ones matters more than the extravagance or the price of the food that rests on top. Video by CNBC's Mary Stevens and Nate Skid. Don't miss: How to spend nearly $7,000 in one day eating the most extravagant food in New York City For $80,000 a week, you can stay at the most exclusive hotel on Earth in Antarctica See inside 5 of the world's most amazing underwater hotels and restaurants Senior citizens in the United States are, as a group, sicker than their counterparts in 10 other wealthy countries despite having near-universal health coverage provided by Medicare, a new report says. Older Americans are also markedly more likely to have financial barriers to health care than the elderly in the other countries, according to the analysis published Wednesday in the journal Health Affairs. The findings suggest that proposals to create a universal health coverage system in the United States by making a "Medicare-for-all" system would not necessarily lead to Americans of all ages achieving parity with their international counterparts in health outcomes and costs. The report is based on the 2017 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey of Older Adults, which questioned 23,000 people. In addition to the United States, it looked at the experiences of older adults in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. At least one in every eight older adults in the Commonwealth Fund's survey reported having three or more chronic health conditions. The United States had the highest rate, with 36 percent of the elderly Americans have three or more chronic conditions. That contrasts with 17 percent in Australia, the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Older adults in New Zealand had the lowest rate of multiple chronic conditions, at 13 percent. Despite having Medicare, the federally run program that provides health coverage to primarily adults 65 years and older, those Americans often have trouble affording care when they need it. A total of 23 percent of elderly Americans said that in the past year they had not gone to the doctor when they were ill, skipped a recommened medical test or treatment, or left a drug prescription unfulfilled because of cost, according to the Health Affairs report. "In contrast, only 5 percent or fewer of older adults in France, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom reported these cost barriers," the report said. Dr. David Blumenthal, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said "Medicare is the most popular [health coverage] program in the United States in terms of satisfaction of the population that is covered by it." "The level of contentment is very high," Blumenthal said. But despite that, he added, a signficant share of Medicare benficiaries "are underinsured," or do not have adequate financial coverage for their medical needs. While Medicare does cover a large share of beneficiaries' health services, enrollees in the program are responsible for a share of out-of-pocket costs. U.S. companies won't tolerate failure on corporate tax reform, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday. "We've already seen a rash of inversions," the Wisconsin Republican said on CNBC, referring to the practice of U.S. companies merging with foreign firms in lower tax countries, and then redomiciling there. "[If] we don't get this done, those companies sitting back and waiting for us to fix this tax code are going to leave," he predicted on "Squawk Box." Ryan's comments came as the House and Senate work on separate tax overhaul plans in hopes of passing a bill for President Donald Trump to sign by year-end. In a CNBC interview last week, top Trump economic advisor Gary Cohn also warned about inversions. The director of the National Economic Council, who used to be the No. 2 executive at Goldman Sachs , said, "Look, a year ago, I was on the other side of this equation. I was advising companies how to get out of the burdensome U.S. tax system. We were talking about inversions; we were talking about moving companies out of the United States." In light of his current role in the administration, Cohn said he does not regret his efforts at Goldman. "I didn't feel guilty because boards have a fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders. That's what they're supposed to do. So, you know what? We're going to make America competitive. We're going to make it compelling for people to build their companies in America." In Wednesday's CNBC interview, Ryan made the case for how to create a more attractive business environment in America. He cited three main corporate tax changes, including cutting the federal rate from 35 percent to 20 percent; allowing immediate "full expensing" of capital expenditures; and switching to a "territorial system" that would not subject American companies to U.S. taxes on foreign earnings. The current "worldwide system" in the U.S., which requires companies to pay U.S. taxes on earnings wherever they are generated, penalizes American companies that want to bring foreign income back home, Ryan said. "They basically don't as a result. That's why we have $3 trillion in cash parked overseas in the first place," Ryan said. "Unlocking that brings that money home. But unlocking that also puts us on a better level playing field." In addition to a move to a "territorial system," the House approach proposes a one-time "tax holiday" rate of 12 percent on cash returns and 5 percent on non-cash repatriated from overseas. "When you combine 'full expensing,' which will be effective immediately, with a rate cut, with repatriation, it says the incentive is to invest in America," Ryan said. "Getting from the last of the country pile, meaning the highest industrial world tax rate, to one of the best tax rates, we really are convinced that that's going to give us faster economic growth and higher wage growth." Did you know Goa CM Manohar Parrikar once got caught watching an adult movie in his youth? The story will leave you in splits. By India Today Web Desk: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar was at a Children's Day function in Panaji yesterday, and he thought the best story to tell in this occasion will be that of the time he watched an "adult movie" in his youth and got busted. CM Parrikar was interacting with school students here (ahem-ahem) when a kid asked him about the kind of movies he watched as a student. And then fell the bomb. advertisement "We would not just watch movies, we have also watched adult movies of that era," said Parrikar. "You are seeing more things on TV now than what was shown on adult movies back then." Parrikar went on to tell a funny story about the time he got busted while watching an adult movie: "There was a popular (adult) movie. I was an adult at that time. My brother and I had gone to watch it. During interval, when the lights came on, I realised that my neighbour was sitting next to me. This neighbour used to chat with my mother every evening. I told myself, we are dead," said Parrikar. Like any other sane kid in India, Parrikar and his brother, Avdhoot, ran away from the movie hall hoping to save their lives. And of course, on the way, they came up with a foolproof plan to save their behinds. "When we reached home, I told my mother we had gone for a movie and that we did not know the movie was vulgar... We left it (movie) mid-way. And very casually I told her, that our neighbour was also there and kept quiet," Parrikar narrated. "The next day, the neighbour excitedly called my mother to tell her that Manohar and Avdhoot had gone for an (adult) movie. My mother told him, "I know which movie they went for, but why did you go for the movie?" "You have to pre-empt certain things," Parrikar explained. Doesn't Parrikar's story have an uncanny similarity to the first couple of scenes from Anurag Kashyap's movie, Udaan? Things ended on a much better note for him and his brother, unlike in the movie. Having shared the story, we hope the students at the Children's Day function don't learn too much from his experience. --- ENDS --- House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday put the burden on the Senate to scrap Obamacare's individual mandate as part of a tax reform bill. In an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Ryan suggested that his members could get behind eliminating the provision. However, he said the House will not do so in the bill it hopes to pass Thursday. Instead, it will wait to address it in a conference committee with the Senate, he said. In a revised bill released Tuesday night, the Senate added an effective repeal of the law requiring most Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. Senators say it will save more than $300 billion to use toward making tax cuts compliant with Senate budget rules. Ryan did not outright say the House would back such a measure, but he noted that his members have voted to repeal the mandate in the past. "We've had the House votes to do that. We passed our repeal of the individual mandate back in May," the Wisconsin Republican said. "But we never had the votes in the Senate. So what we didn't want to do is make tax reform harder than it already is." "But it really is whether or not the Senate has the votes for this or not. So, we're seeing what the Senate can do. If the Senate can get it through committee, if they can get it through the floor, then we'll meet them in conference and we'll assess at that time," Ryan added. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson will oppose the Senate tax plan as written, his office confirmed Wednesday. The lawmaker from Wisconsin is the first GOP senator to explicitly say he will not back the tax proposal. Johnson told The Wall Street Journal that the bill benefits corporations more than other businesses. "If they can pass it without me, let them," he told the newspaper, which first reported his opposition. "I'm not going to vote for this tax package." Johnson's opposition adds uncertainty to the GOP goal of chopping tax rates on businesses and individuals by the end of the year. Other Republican senators have raised concerns about budget deficits fueled by tax cuts, though none other than Johnson have publicly opposed the bill, yet. Johnson could end up voting for the Senate bill, as it still may change before the full Senate votes. He initially opposed one version of the Senate's push to repeal the Affordable Care Act this summer, before eventually voting for it. Republicans hold 52 of 100 seats in the Senate. If all Democrats and independents oppose it, the GOP can only lose two votes and still pass the plan with the simple majority needed under special budget rules. GOP senators hope to pass their bill as soon as the week after Thanksgiving. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, released a revised version of the bill Tuesday night. Among the biggest changes, it would make most individual rate cuts expire after 2025, while the corporate tax rate would get reduced permanently. It also would effectively repeal the Obamacare individual mandate. The move gives senators more room to comply with budget rules, but it could lead to an estimated 13 million more people uninsured and increase average health-care premiums, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate. In the Journal interview, Johnson expressed concerns about the treatment of pass-through businesses, which pay individual income tax rates. The Senate bill would give those businesses tax breaks, while the House plan cuts the rate they pay to 25 percent. In a statement released later Wednesday, Johnson said that "neither the House nor the Senate bill provide fair treatment" for pass-through businesses, "so I do not support either in their current versions." "I do, however, look forward to working with my colleagues to address the disparity so I can support the final version," he said. Johnson also told the newspaper that he has felt shut out of the process of making the bill, calling it "offensive." Programming note: Johnson will appear on CNBC's "Squawk Box" at 7:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. Saudi Arabia has introduced trading licenses that will allow foreign entrepreneurs to set up a business in the Kingdom for the first time. The initiative, announced Wednesday by several Saudi regulators, will enable select businesses to establish themselves in the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC). The KAEC is the world's first publicly listed city and was established by the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2005. "We believe the future of the (Saudi) economy is the knowledge economy, so we can't do that without entrepreneurs from all over the world," KAEC CEO Fahd Al-Rasheed told CNBC on Wednesday. More than 11 licenses have been handed out to entrepreneurs in different sectors, Al-Rasheed said. He added: "We've offered entrepreneurs incentives to come into Saudi Arabia so it doesn't only require regulatory approvals but also access to market we're giving them free office space, free education for their children, anything that they ask for." Al-Rasheed said the project aims to take advantage of technological advancements like driverless cars, a tech currently led by U.S. firms like Tesla and Google's Waymo. Tweaks to the Senate tax plan include a change that will help to ease the concerns of two Republican senators. Under the revisions released Tuesday night, the child tax credit would double from $1,000 per child. The previous Senate plan called for raising the credit to $1,650. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, pushed for a $2,000 per child credit, saying it would provide more relief to middle-income taxpayers. They cheered the move after the amended bill's release. In a tweet, Rubio called the change "good news for working families" and added, "we are making progress." Rubio: Good news for working families, the Senate #TaxCut bill now has #ChildTaxCredit at 2K. We are making progress Lee tweeted that he was "thrilled" about the revision and said it could give "unprecedented tax relief for working moms and dads." Lee: I am thrilled to hear that the revised Senate tax reform proposal will double the child tax credit to $2,000 per child. I eagerly await the release of more details. But if true, this could provide unprecedented tax relief for working moms and dads: President Donald Trump's daughter and advisor, Ivanka, has also pushed for a larger child tax credit. Senate Republicans, who hold 52 of 100 seats, need every vote they can get to pass their tax plan. They can only lose two votes and still approve a tax bill with the majority needed under special budget rules. The Senate Finance Committee aims to approve the bill this week. Republicans want the full Senate to pass it during the week after Thanksgiving. The House GOP hopes to pass its version on Thursday. Major analyses of versions of the Senate plan have estimated that most Americans would have a lower tax burden if it passed. However, millions are expected to see tax increases under the bill, due to the elimination of provisions like state and local tax deductions. Under the revised Senate bill, individual tax cuts would also expire after 2025. A corporate tax reduction would be permanent. Read more about the revised Senate tax plan here. Talkspace CEO Oren Frank When disasters from hurricanes to wildfires swept the U.S. this fall, mental health start-up Talkspace turned to Facebook for free advertising to reach victims. But while Talkspace CEO Oren Frank says he's grateful for the donation, he was left with mixed feelings about accepting the ads. Facebook is a near-necessity for companies trying to rapidly reach disaster victims, including Talkspace, which offers online therapy, Frank said. But Frank believes Facebook could take a more active approach when it comes to stewarding the mental health of its users. "Facebook are currently insisting that they are 'just a platform' and are trying hard to stay away from any content and service plays. My two cents is that Facebook will have to change this approach. It's not sustainable and also it is not the right thing to do," Frank said. "Maybe, hopefully, in time, they'll acknowledge their responsibility for the well being of people who spend so many hours using their services." watch now Talkspace, which has raised at least $60 million from investors like SoftBank to power online chat-based therapy, offered a free Facebook group to help hurricane survivors, moderated by around 20 Talkspace representatives. There were groups for both Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma, and Facebook offered a "very nice number" of free ads to promote the groups. These are moderated support groups not a medical service or traditional therapy. At their peak they had over 1,000 people, Frank said. "The support groups hosted conversations on a wide variety of topics, including 'What do I do if my eating disorder has been triggered by the stress of the storm?,' as well as 'How do I process my survivor's guilt?' and 'The best ways to handle anxiety when applying for FEMA benefits'," Frank said. But Facebook groups like these could reveal who has shown interest in working with a mental health professional which could be considered a very private aspect of health and safety after trauma. "We know that 20 percent to 25 percent of any population will suffer from mental illness every year. This means that in any given time, over 400 million using Facebook are suffering from a clinically diagnosable mental health issue," Frank wrote in an email to CNBC. "I think Facebook, with their unlimited data capabilities, knows this very well, and it's highly likely they also know exactly who the suffering users are." Facebook confirmed it provided credits for Talkspace's ad campaign but could not disclose a dollar amount for the donation. After the recent shooting in Las Vegas, Talkspace opted not to use Facebook groups to help employees of Live Nation, Mandalay Bay, the first responders, and the concert goers. The company is instead offering 100 months of free Talkspace therapy, which had to be done on a platform compliant with HIPAA privacy laws, so Facebook would not have suited. But Talkspace went back to Facebook groups when it came time to reach victims of recent wildfires in northern California. "We've decided that extending help is the highest priority," Frank said. "Facebook has its own set of considerations which I'm not a part of, but knowing many people who work there, I believe they're driven by doing the right thing and help their users their willingness to help us is one sign of this." A hard balance It's fairly rare for advertising to be donated to a for-profit company, although it makes sense in the case of disaster, said Anthony LaFauce, vice president of Digital at Porter Novelli, and an adjunct professor who teaches social media strategy at American University. BetterHelp, a competing start-up, said it is also providing free services for those impacted by both Harvey and Irma, but a spokesperson said "it doesn't look like we're supporting the Facebook initiative." There's no clear guidance for companies like Facebook and Talkspace when it comes to using health-related data to target advertising.. What happens with self-disclosed health-related data on social media is highly regulated in some ways, but is a grey area in others, LaFauce said. "[The best practice on ad targeting] walks the balance of counseling and mental health treatment," LaFauce said. "Fifteen years ago, you put yourself in the newspaper, it becomes public. We've been trying to put that into place, but it's hard to understand, with social media, you're entering a public conversation." Facebook has made changes to its approach to mental health this year, including more sophisticated outreach to users discussing self-harm and suicide and an investment in its safety and security team. The company also matched more than $1 million in donations for Hurricane Harvey, and donated $1 million to local organizations to help with wildfires in California. Frank said Talkspace donates at least 500 months of free therapy to audiences and populations that can't afford it each year. But he said would not deliver therapy on a platform like Facebook that "isn't ours and is not HIPAA compliant." "Maybe, hopefully, in time, they'll acknowledge their responsibility for the well being of people who [spend] so many hours using their services. I hope so," Frank said. WATCH: FB full of illegal opioid ads It sounds like a challenge of galactic proportions. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says that despite its space agency only being three years old, it remains on track to launch a probe to Mars by 2020. The Hope probe would touch down on the red planet by 2021, in time to commemorate the 50th anniversary of when seven emirates came together to form the UAE. Speaking at the Dubai Airshow Tuesday, Director General of the UAE Space Agency, Mohammed Al Ahbabi said the first ever Arabic and Islamic space mission was intended to educate and inspire. "We have national objectives to inspire young people and provide confidence in our people, to show it is possible," Al Ahbabi said. "But also to team up with the international science community and gain from a technology transfer." The director general said that despite political difficulties in the region the program remains on time and within budget. Once launched the probe would travel around 40 million miles over nine months before touching down to study the Martian atmosphere and climate. The UAE space agency, which backs the mission, was formed in July 2014 and has secured a reported $5.2 billion in public and private support. Al Ahbabi said the UAE was working with the support of more than 20 space agencies around the world and he predicted that the only three outstanding agencies would come on board next year. "So many people are coming to the UAE to express admiration for what we are trying to do," he said. The Middle East is viewed as a good location for a launch pad as it enjoys mild weather, has open desert spaces and being near the equator, requires less thrust to get missiles into orbit. Al Ahbabi added that the UAE space program would help resurrect a lost Arabic trait of understanding the galaxy. "This region, 600 or 700 years ago was the base of astronomy. Two-thirds of the stars that we can see with our naked eyes have Arabic or Islamic names," he said. "Unfortunately there was decline but now through this big project we want to send a message to the people that it is still possible to study space." By PTI: Kiev/New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Indian students in Ukraine were saved from losing an academic year and lakhs of rupees after being duped by private consultants who arranged fake admissions for them in various universities in the country. The students were helped by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Ukraine after they tweeted that some consultants had duped them by arranging fake admissions in various universities in Ukraine. advertisement "Mam, Indian students looted in lakhs by consultancies & agencies in the name of education due to this we are not able to take admissions in colleges plz help us mam to come out of it,(Ukraine) & consultant custodies our passport," tweeted Aishwarya, asking External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for help. "Need help please help us ...consultant looted & agencies looted us we are help less here plz we are facing so many problems in Ukraine plz do something to get out of this," the student wrote. The students passionate plea for help came to the notice of the Indian Embassy in Ukraine yesterday. The embassy took up the case of the stranded Indian students and arranged a meeting between officials of universities, agents and the students to solve the matter. "Students please disseminate the information about admissions possible only by 31 Oct 17. University officials agreed to switch Bipartite agreement with students instead of Tripartite for the benefits of students," the embassy said in a tweet. "Meeting with officials of concerned universities, Agents and Students Aishwarya & Shruti held at Embassy chaired by Ambassador on 14.11.17, grievances of students were discussed at length," it said. After discussing the matter at length, Ukrainian universities agreed to switch to bipartite agreement from tripartite agreement. It also reprimanded the consultants. "University agreed to admit students for 2nd Semester course and sign direct agreement with students, the concerned agent was warned and asked to mend his ways. University officials assured transparent & student friendly approach hereafter & agreed to deal with students directly," the embassy said. Swaraj tweeted today that the matter had been resolved to the satisfaction of the students. "I am happy Indian Ambassador in Ukraine Manoj Bharati @IndiainUkraine has resolved this to the satisfaction of Indian students," she said. PTI MRJ AKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after returning from an 11-day Asia trip November 14, 2017 in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump tweeted condolences after a gunman killed four people and wounded at least 10, including children, in Rancho Tehama, California. The only problem was that Trump's tweet Tuesday night, hours after the latest rampage, was addressed to Sutherland Springs, Texas, where 26 people were gunned down more than a week earlier, on Nov. 5. In his Tuesday tweet, Trump made no mention of California, or Rancho Tehama, or the elementary school that was targeted by the gunman. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he was focused on "fair and reciprocal" trade in Asia."Trade abuses harm the United States and its workers, but no more," he said at the White House. "My message has resonated. The 21 [Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation] leaders, for the first time ever, recognized the importance of fair of reciprocal trade, recognized the need to address unfair trade practices, and acknowledged that the [World Trade Organization] is in strong need of reform," Trump said. The remarks came a day after the president returned from a nearly two-week trip to Asia, where he visited Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines. Earlier in the week, Trump stressed the business deals he said American companies had inked during the trip, but was cryptic about whether the visit had produced any concrete bilateral agreements. "We've made some very big steps with respect to trade, far bigger than anything you know, in addition to about $300 billion in sales to various companies, including China that was $250 billion and going up very substantially from that," he said Monday in Manila. On the way home, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that much of the progress he had made during the trip was interpersonal. "I think we made a lot of progress, just in terms of relationship," he said. President Donald Trump will likely score his first major legislative victory with tax reform, former House GOP Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Wednesday. Cantor said that while America boasts the largest economy in the world, Washington was yet to come to terms with a "very unconventional" and "disruptive" leader. "There is a much greater than 50 percent chance that tax reform will happen the U.S. has got to stay competitive in this disruptive environment," he said at the Abu Dhabi International Exhibition Petroleum Conference (ADIPEC). House Republicans are poised to vote on their tax reform bill on Thursday, hoping to secure the most concrete step yet toward overhauling the American tax system. GOP leaders believe they can pass the bill this week, despite lingering resistance from some Republicans. Trump is expected to join lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Thursday in an effort to reaffirm the case for tax cuts shortly before the vote. Key sticking points in making the final legislation include the treatment of state and local tax deductions and raising enough revenue to make up for the tax cuts. "If we can do it, anybody can do it," said Jane Och, co-founder of Guac-Lock. Guac-Lock is a storage container that solves one of America's biggest party problems: keeping guacamole from turning brown. After four difficult years of product development, it launched in 2016 and is already on track for $1 million in sales this year. "If we can do it, anybody can do it," repeated her friend and co-founder Sharon Prince. (The two founders do a lot of repeating and finishing each other's sentences.) Hey, guess what??? "Strange Success" is now a podcast! From doomsday bunkers to guac-savers (stay tuned -- that episode is coming up Jan. 31), you will learn about a whole lot of strange successes by subscribing to the podcast. You can listen to it free on Apple podcasts! Click here to get started. Both women started their professional careers as investment managers and then switched to raising children while still doing consulting work. They met through their kids, became good friends and then stepsisters (more on that later), and finally became empty nesters. Then they got bored. One day in 2012, Och was in her kitchen taking a container of guacamole out of the fridge when she commented on how fresh it looked unopened, even though it had been in there for days. "I realized if I don't touch this container of guacamole, it will never turn brown," she said. "The second I put a chip in it, there's space. So I thought if somehow we could eliminate that space, then we've maybe solved this age-old problem." Prince agreed. "Guacamole was becoming so popular, avocados were coming more and more into style. ... Let's try and solve the problem!" Guac-Lock founders Jane Och (left) and Sharon Prince invented their guac-saving container after growing tired of seeing guacamole brown. CNBC | Zack Guzman People try all kinds of ways to keep guacamole looking green keeping the pit in the dip, which only seems to work for awhile, or putting water on top, which makes it kind of mushy. As for an actual storage product that keeps the air out, Och and Prince figured someone had already made one. "I kept Googling for months and months. I couldn't understand, there's no way somebody hadn't come up with this idea," said Och. "Sure enough, nobody had." There's a reason for that. It's really hard. Solving this "age-old problem" took four years and cost each woman $100,000 of personal savings. Neither Prince nor Och had ever invented anything. They knew nothing about engineering, manufacturing, branding, distributing or the need to get a patent. "We just started mentioning it to anybody we knew," said Prince. The more people they asked, the more help they got. "I would listen to people's advice, and you never know where that's going to lead," Och added. One of the first things they did was name the product, which turned out to be the only easy part of this journey. The name came up in a brainstorming session in Och's kitchen with her teenager daughter and friends. "We're just talking, 'Oh, PopLock, or Guac-It,'" she said. Someone blurted out, "What about Guac-Lock?" Prince knew immediately they had a winner. "Guac-Lock stuck very early on." Four-day old guacamole is compared with standard cover in a bowl and the Guac-Lock (right.) CNBC | Jeniece Pettitt Prototyping Guac-Lock An industrial designer they met through a friend created potential designs for the Guac-Lock that would be easy to use while pushing out all the air. "We started with push-down containers, and literally, in the middle of the night, we had this epiphany," said Och. "I called Sharon, and I said, 'You know, if we push up, then as you push up, it always looks like a brand new ready-to-serve container!'" Another friend connected them with the Chicago International Home and Housewares Show, and they had to create a prototype quickly. "It turns out we found an amazing person through another friend of a friend, a prototype-making guy," said Och before Prince chimed in, "who produced them in FIVE DAYS in Taiwan," (then Och finished the sentence) "and literally five days to our door we had seven of these prototypes." Testing the idea They went to the housewares show in 2014, and Guac-Lock ended up as a finalist in the Innovation category. Suddenly their booth was very popular. However, they only had the prototype, not a real FDA-approved product. "Everybody's coming by and saying, 'Well, how do we get them?'" said Prince. "'We said, 'We're not quite ready to ship, we're almost there. ... Why don't you give us your name and number and information and when we have them, we will contact you.'" Even here, the network of friends paid off. "Before the housewares show talk about people you know a good friend of ours was at a shiva call and met this gentlemen," Och said. (A "shiva call" is a traditional period of mourning in Judaism.) The gentleman was Bruce Kaminstein, founder of home products company Casabella. Kaminstein promised to help the two newbies. In fact, their booth at the show ended up near Casabella's massive display. Guac-Lock founders Sharon Prince (left) and Jane Och iterated on their design for months. CNBC | Jeniece Pettitt "He sent over his head of manufacturing, his head of branding sales, anybody that came by his booth that he felt could be helpful to us," said Prince. Och added, "He said, 'You know what? I was where you guys were one day, and I just want to help out.'" Casabella even approached the two with a licensing agreement, allowing Guac-Lock to leverage the bigger company's contacts and distribution, while still leaving the two founders in charge of product development. Good thing the two got that deal, because a lot went wrong. Disaster strikes The biggest problem was the material they first chose to make Guac-Lock. Everyone suggested silicone "The wonder plastic!" both women said. Silicone is what a lot of storage products are made of, and it's FDA approved. However, it has a fatal flaw for storing guacamole. "The main characteristic of silicone is gas permeability," said Och. Prince added, "Exactly what we did not want!" The permeability allowed air to seep through to the guacamole, turning it brown. It took a very long time to figure this out. "Guacamole tells no lies," said Och. "We would just continue to test it with guacamole. ... The hundreds and hundreds of batches of guacamole we made, you can only imagine." They finally hired a materials engineer who came up with a less permeable "thermoplastic elastomer." It took six months and a lot of money "a very dark period" but an FDA-approved elastomer was created. "We found this secret sauce, which everyone thinks is silicone, but it's not," said Och. But wait, there's more. The Guac-Lock works by squeezing out excess air in the container to keep guacamole fresh. The simple idea is on track to notch $1 million in sales this year. CNBC | Zack Guzman A reinvention "When you manufacture something, you need a draft angle," Och said. A draft angle means that the top opening of a product is ever so slightly smaller or larger than the bottom opening, allowing for quick removal from a manufacturing mold in mass production. The original draft angle for the Guac-Lock had the smaller opening at the bottom, but as you pushed the guac up through the larger opening, some of the dip would slide down the sides of the pushing part. It essentially meant you could only push once, you couldn't continue to store the guacamole after one use, and it was kind of messy. One night, Och had another epiphany. "I called Sharon in the middle of the night, I'm like, 'Sharon, I need you, I need you!'" She realized that if the smaller opening was at the top instead of the bottom, the guacamole would be pushed out without making a mess, and whatever remained could continue to be stored airtight until the next use. It was a much better product design. But there was a huge problem. The first order of 12,000 Guac-Locks had already been produced in China and were about to ship out. Simply turning the device upside down wouldn't work. It would have to be re-engineered and manufactured. Both women called Casabella to stop the shipment and start a redesign. Och said everyone agreed her new idea was better, but they told her the old design was still good. "We have 12,000, and they're going to market. ... We'll do it next time,'" Och said she was told. She would have none of it. "I turned to Sharon and I said and she knew exactly what I was going to say I just said, 'You know what? This is our baby, we've worked on it forever, and knowing that this greatly improves the product, I cannot come to market without making this improvement.'" Casabella agreed to their demands. The two women found a temporary mold maker in Michigan, which quickly turned out the first 3,000 Guac-Locks they needed to meet immediate obligations, and the factory in China then reworked the mold to make the rest. Och and Prince covered the cost of the delay $11,000. After signing with home products company Casabella, Guac-Lock is now available on Amazon and select stores across the country. CNBC | Jeniece Pettitt Success at last The Republican tax plan appears to have a public opinion problem. Most American voters 52 percent disapprove of the GOP proposals to overhaul the tax system, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Only 25 percent of respondents approve of the Republican effort. The GOP says its push to chop taxes on businesses and individuals by year-end is designed to trim the burden on middle-class taxpayers while boosting job creation and wage growth. Voters largely have not bought into the message, the Quinnipiac poll found. Sixty-one percent of voters said the plan would mainly help the wealthy. Twenty-four percent responded that it would primarily benefit the middle class, while only 6 percent said the same about low-income people. The proposals favor the rich at the expense of the middle class, 59 percent of respondents said. Only 33 percent disagreed with that statement. Only 36 percent of respondents said the GOP effort will lead to more jobs and better economic growth. A majority, 52 percent, disagreed. Thirty-six percent of voters said the proposals would not have much of an effect on their taxes. Thirty-five percent said the plan would increase what they pay, while 16 percent said it would reduce their tax burden. Poor public approval of the plan could give more fodder to Democratic arguments that Republican tax bills would not do enough to help the middle class. House and Senate Republicans have crafted separate, but largely overlapping, bills that would chop corporate taxes and tweak the individual tax system. The House aims to pass its plan Thursday, while the Senate wants to approve its bill during the week after Thanksgiving. If the chambers pass their own bills, they will have to reconcile them. Lawmakers would create a unified plan to approve and send to President Donald Trump's desk. Major analyses so far have estimated that versions of the bills would cut the tax burden on most Americans. However, millions of middle-income people could end up seeing a tax increase, due to changes to provisions like state and local tax deductions. Both bills would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent. On the individual side, the plans get rid of the personal exemption, nearly double the standard deduction, either narrow or repeal the estate tax and reduce the tax burden on pass-through businesses. Under the latest Senate proposal, most individual rate cuts would expire, while corporate reductions would be permanent. The bill would also effectively repeal the Obamacare individual mandate, a politically contentious measure that would lead to an estimated 13 million more people uninsured by 2027. The bills treat some deductions differently. The House plan curbs the mortgage interest deduction and keeps a deduction for state and local property taxes. The Senate bill does not change the cap on the mortgage interest deduction and scraps all state and local deductions. The nationwide Quinnipiac poll surveyed 1,577 voters from Nov. 7 to Nov. 13. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. [The stream is slated to start at 3:30 p.m., ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] President Donald Trump, having recently returned from a 12-day trip to Asia, is expected to make an announcement Wednesday afternoon. A White House official said that the president's statement will center around his five-country tour of Asia, NBC News reported. Trump's remarks will be delivered in the Diplomatic Room of the White House. Earlier on Wednesday, Trump sent a series of tweets touching on various issues related to his trip. While the day began with the president touting the tour's diplomatic successes, his focus shifted to the media's coverage of the trip. Trump tweet 1 Trump tweet 2 Trump tweet 4 Trump tweet 3 Trump tweet 5 Self-made billionaire and serial entrepreneur Elon Musk is best known for his pioneering work in the tech and science space. One of the main keys to his success is his emotional intelligence, as he displays with his family, employees and even upset Tesla customers. But amid Tesla's launch of the Model 3 vehicle in July, the company's chief executive officer revealed he was going through a breakup. In an interview for Rolling Stone's latest cover story with reporter and bestselling author Neil Strauss, Musk admitted, "If I'm not in love, if I'm not with a long-term companion, I cannot be happy." Rolling Stone Tweet Musk, 46, had been publicly dating Australian actress Amber Heard for about a year when the pair amicably broke up. "It took every ounce of will to be able to do the Model 3 event and not look like the most depressed guy around," Musk said. "For most of that day, I was morbid. And then I had to psych myself up: drink a couple of Red Bulls, hang out with positive people and then, like, tell myself: 'I have all these people depending on me. All right, do it!'" "I was really in love, and it hurt bad," Musk said, adding, "Well, she broke up with me more than I broke up with her, I think." Leading up to the new Tesla launch, he said he had been in "severe emotional pain" for several weeks. Strauss added that leading up to the event, Musk meditated "for pretty much the first time in his life to get centered." Musk has been married twice before: first to writer Justine Musk for eight years, who is the mother of their five children, and later to actress Talulah Riley, which was on and off for roughly four years. In 2012, between a divorce and his re-marriage to Riley, Musk told Bloomberg BusinessWeek about his balance between his work life and love life. "I think the time allocated to the businesses and the kids is going fine," Musk told Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporter Ashlee Vance. "I would like to allocate more time to dating, though. I need to find a girlfriend. How much time does a woman want a week? Maybe 10 hours?" Given that Musk splits his time between four companies, reportedly works between 80 to 90 hours a week, gets about six hours of sleep a night and even works while relaxing, Musk doesn't seem to get much time to himself. When Musk and Heard ended their relationship last summer, Musk attributed the breakup to this very time constraint over social media. "Long distance relationships when both partners have intense work obligations are always difficult, but who knows what the future holds," Musk commented on one of Heard's Instagram photos. Musk told Strauss that from the time he was a child, he has never liked being alone. And he's onto something: The world's longest study on adult life and happiness has found that good relationships keep us happier and healthier for longer. Even business magnate Warren Buffett argues that "its much more fun achieving things in life with a partner." There's even scientific research to back up Buffett's advice. A study published by Carnegie Mellon University found that people with supportive spouses are "more likely to give themselves the chance to succeed." As for Musk's future companion? "I'm looking for a long-term relationship. I'm not looking for a one-night stand. I'm looking for a serious companion or soulmate, that kind of thing," he said. Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook. Don't miss: What to do if you're miserable at work, according to a happiness expert Oprah Winfrey hated this part of her job until she asked herself one life-changing question 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. By PTI: (Eds : incorporating additional inputs) Imphal, Nov 15 (PTI) A militant was today killed while two Assam Rifles jawans were injured in an encounter between heavily-armed militants and the paramilitary force in Chandel district of Manipur bordering Myanmar, police said. The encounter took place at around 5 am when Assam Rifles personnel spotted militants planting Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Chamol village, 18 km from Chakpikarong police station, a senior police officer said. advertisement A gunbattle followed in which the unidentified militant was killed and two Assam Rifles jawans were injured, the police officer said. A rifle and three unexploded IEDs were recovered from the site by the Assam Rifles troopers, he said. Additional forces were rushed to the remote village and a combing operation was on, the police officer said. On Monday, two Assam Rifles jawans were killed and six others were injured when militants exploded a powerful IED at Man Mani village in the same district, following which security had been strengthened. Banned insurgent outfit Revolutionary Peoples Front (RPF) had claimed responsibility for Mondays attack. PTI COR MM DV --- ENDS --- Ben Roback is a Senior Account Executive at Cicero Group and a member of the US Embassys Young Leaders UK programme. In ardently Red-state Alabama, a unique special election is playing out. Propelling a Senate election to the national and international stage, Alabamans will go to the polls on December 12th in a unique set of circumstances and amidst a cloud of accusations that look set to determine the outcome of the race. Washington DC and establishment Republicans have almost entirely turned against Judge Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate. But despite a tidal wave of criticism and calls to withdraw from within the leadership of his own party, Moore persists. A collapse in trust in the traditional news media and the fading influence of Washington mean Moore feels he can withstand the pressure, while voters resist the news they are being fed. Local outlets have covered Moore closely, but corners of the right-wing media have been quick to describe the allegations as a hit job. With election day approaching, it is impossible to predict what will happen next. Buoyed by gubernatorial wins in New Jersey and Virginia, could Democrats flip a Red state Blue against the odds? State of the polls The race is surprisingly in play, in a southern state that consistently votes Republican. Alabama hasnt sent a Democratic senator to Washington since 1992; has a PVI score of R+14 on the Cook Partisan Voting Index; and Donald Trump won the state by over 20 points in November 2016. Driving establishment support away from Moore are allegations of historic sexual misconduct, alleged by a series of women and published by the Washington Post. In another era, with corroborated evidence and a long list of witnesses, this kind of journalism would be considered watertight and impossible to defend against. In the face of withdrawn endorsements from Republicans in the Senate and ignoring calls from Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, Moore has steadfastly remained in the race. There is every indication that he could yet win. Before the allegations were published, Democratic candidate Doug Jones was in the race but showed little sign of forward momentum. Since the allegations, the electoral picture is in flux. Polls conducted since the allegations have shown both candidates with alternating leads. One JMC Analytics poll, showing Jones ahead by four points, will be enough for a reinvigorated Democratic Party to ramp up their fundraising and targeted advertising. The intervention of the party machine could distract the election from local issues. At present it is more of a local race and less of a referendum on Donald Trump, who remains popular in Alabama. Fake news The establishment Republican Party has tried to drive Moore out of the race and the Republican National Committee (RNC) has cut ties with Moores joint fundraising committee. McConnell is considering entering Luther Strange as a write-in candidate, a move that would split the Republican vote and likely give the seat to the Democrats. All of this points to the fading influence of Washington. The party structure calls for a candidate to resign with good reason and that is considered a badge of honour in fighting the establishment. Creating even more distance between Alabama and Washington, the ultra-conservative Moore could benefit from the mass rejection from his party. He has already called on McConnell to resign, citing a failure of conservatives. Should Moore win, his support for key votes in legislation brought to the floor by Mitch McConnell is not guaranteed. That is likely to be part of McConnells political calculation. The fading influence of the Washington establishment is complemented by a rapidly declining trust in traditional media outlets. In political cycles and generations gone by, this kind of watertight reporting by a known national newspaper caused candidates to stand down. But ever since fake news entered the political zeitgeist that has swept America, voters have been questioning the news they are fed and the platforms on which it is consumed. So Moore is almost free to challenge the legitimacy of the reporting, accusing the liberal media of hurling a political grenade at him, and some voters will agree. Short of demands from the White House to step aside, the Republican Party is running out of ways to drive Moore out of the race. It could all point to the waning influence of the traditional power structures within Washington DC. By PTI: Bakloh (HP), Nov 15 (PTI) A mock drill to repel terrorist attack on "United Nations office" marked the culmination of the fortnight long joint military exercise between India and Kazakhstan here. Senior military observers from both the countries watched the drill on the final day of the exercise here yesterday which was followed by separate cultural shows presented by the troops of the two countries. advertisement The contingents comprised platoon strength from third Battalion of the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army and a similar strength of the Kazakh Army. They went through a rigorous training schedule over the past two weeks under the banner "Prabal Dostyk" - Robust Friendship - in Bakloh cantonment, located 4,584 feet above the sea level, in Chamba district of HP. The first edition of the military exercise was held in Kazakhstan, a major central Asian state and Indias largest trading partner in the minerals-rich region, in 2016. Sound of practice firing and blasts echoed the hills prior to the commencement of the final drill which saw joint troops on a "UN peacekeeping mission" establishing checking points to frustrate a possible terror attack on the UN office. As part of the drill, four terrorists travelling in a private car started firing after being intercepted by one of the parties at a checking point. While two of them were neutralised on the spot, two others managed to flee and sneak into the UN office building after cutting the fence. Reinforcements were air dropped from a chopper near the building and both the holed up terrorists were subsequently neutralised ? the operational drill keenly watched by the military observers from both the countries and other senior and lower rank officers. Leader of Kazakhstan contingent Lt Col G B Kassymbekov was all praise for India and said the exercise provided them a valuable learning experience in counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations. "The exercise demonstrated the determination of the two armies in working closely with each other to eradicate the menace of terrorism in all its forms," defence spokesperson Colonel N N Joshi told PTI. He said the joint exercise was a resounding success and would go a long way in enhancing military ties between the two countries. The Indian contingent commander, who wished not to be identified, said the exercise sought to acquaint the forces with each others operating procedures in the backdrop of counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations under the UN?s mandate. advertisement "The overall aim was to enhance the existing military relationship between the two countries and achieve synergy for joint conduct of operations as and when the requirement arises,? he said. He said the training would go a long way in enhancing ties between the people of the two countries. "This exercise provided us suitable platform to mutually understand tactics and drills of either contingent so as to enable seamless conduct of of joint counter insurgency and counter-terrorist operations," the contingent leader said. ?I take this opportunity to thank all kazakistani participants and the support staff who have displayed tremendous professional acumen during the conduct of the exercise. He praised the Kazakistani contingent and said in the last 14 days of training together, they have developed close bounds and the resultant comrade among the members of both the contingents which will last life long. The participating Indian troops had undergone extensive training in counter-terrorism and low intensity conflict operations at the Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte, Mizoram. The Indian contingent had also trained with the elite counter-insurgency forces to imbibe the best practices of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations with specific reference to both rural and urban settings. advertisement The drill was followed by cultural programmes presented separately by the contingents of the two countries. A group of Gorkha Rifles personnel presented a scintillating performance of Khukri dance and different forms of martial arts drawing huge applause from the audience. PTI TAS DIP --- ENDS --- Chris Grayling is MP for Epsom and Ewell, and Secretary of State for Transport. Whose side are the Labour Party on? As Ive listened to them set out their position on Brexit over the past few weeks, the only conclusion that one can possibly draw is that they are definitely not on the side of the United Kingdom. Listening to Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer, youd never believe that they voted to trigger Article 50, and in fact that they voted for the referendum in the first place. Nor that it was the Labour heartlands that made the difference in the referendum campaign. As I campaigned for Leave, the warmest receptions I received by far were in places like Caerphilly in the Welsh Valleys, from people fed up with the level of control being exercised over this country from Brussels. Yet Labour now seem determined to betray those supporters, and do everything they can to frustrate Brexit. Just think of the absurdity of the arguments they are now putting forward. In her Lancaster House speech in January, Theresa May made the obvious statement that no deal is better than a bad deal. Of course we want to be good friends and neighbours after we leave the EU. Of course we think that continued free trade is good for all of us, inside and outside the EU. We are after all, once outside, the EUs biggest export market. Millions of EU workers depend for their jobs on UK consumers and businesses. But we cannot possibly as a nation sign up to any deal that is put to us. Or can we? Well thats what Labour want us to do. They have been very clear that they will not countenance leaving the EU without a deal. Well lets be clear. We dont want to either. I am a believer in free trade. So I dont want a trade relationship with tariffs and other barriers in future. We should and will do everything we can to avoid such an outcome. But Labour say that we should sign up to any deal that we can, regardless. So what does that mean? Are they seriously suggesting that we should sign up to any financial demand the EU negotiating team makes of us? 100 billion euros? 150 billion euros? Name the price. It seems Labour would accept regardless. Are they seriously suggesting that we should sign up to a deal that is one sided? Well, actually, yes they are. Because if you enter any negotiation suggesting that you will do a deal come what may, then the other side of that negotiation will clearly ask for as much as they possibly can. And how is that in our national interest? Its not just their argument on the deal with makes no sense at all. They are also claiming that we should stay in the single market, but that we would still be able to control migration into the UK. Thats a deal that they say they would be able to do for Britain. Never mind the fact that David Cameron tried and failed to achieve the same. Somehow Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer claim they would be able to do what no one else can, and what our European partners say cannot be countenanced. Of course, the job of opposition is to oppose. But it is also to demonstrate that you offer a credible alternative, and Labours position on Brexit is a million miles away from credible. It is confused, opportunistic, and absolutely not on the side of the UK national interest. It is in the UKs national interest to form a deep and special partnership with the European Union. To continue to trade. To work together in key areas like security. To fight for our shared values in the world. But it takes two to make a partnership, so we have to be ready for all outcomes. Thats why we are working on the best possible deal for the UK, as well as contingency plans if we cannot reach an agreement. Thats the responsible position for any Government to take. Its a shame Labour dont understand that. Either way, Britain has a strong and successful future ahead of it. We are a dynamic, entrepreneurial nation with a global focus. Brexit wont change that. Jeremy Corbyn started well, by quoting one of Theresa Mays friends on the front bench who had said on Twitter that he is very disappointed and mystified at the closure of Uxbridge Police Station. Here was a pleasantly Wodehousian note on which to begin. Boris Johnson for he was the disappointed and mystified one bounced up and down with indignation. The Prime Minister is, however, rather difficult to catch out on police questions, having had many years practice at dealing with them during her previous existence as an impregnable Home Secretary. She pointed out that the Police and Crime Commissioner in London is the Mayor, and the last time I looked that was Sadiq Khan, who is Labour, though perhaps not Labour enough for the Leader of the Opposition. Corbyn then switched to sprinklers in tower blocks a perfectly good subject, but it gave the impression that he had nothing more to say about the police, and had somehow ceded control of that topic to May. Nor did he persist in trying to open a gulf between the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary a theme which could have run through all six of his questions, and where May might quite soon have found herself running short of ammunition. Corbyn kept on doing this. No sooner had he started on one subject than he switched to another. Hes much better than he used to be, but still too scattergun in his approach, and so verbose he gives his opponent plenty of time to think. After he read out some letter which was supposed to embarrass May, she reproached him for not yet having sent her the letter from Georgina to which he had referred some weeks ago. She seems to be climbing out of the Slough of Despond into which she descended after the election. She was perkier and more confident, and she and her staff had plainly devoted a lot of trouble to getting ready. CORNWALL, Ontario At the Cornwall City Council meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 14 Aultsville Theatre presented to council a request for financial support for a new lighting system. The theatre needs $23, 272 from the City for the lighting system and this represents 8 percent of the total $295, 745 that the theatre needs for the project. The theatre has already raised $40, 000 on its own. The theatre has also submitted grant funding applications to the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund for $147, 873 and the Ontario Trillium Fund for $84, 600. The lighting currently at the theatre has been in place since it opened in 1976 and due to the old technology, it is becoming harder to replace parts when they fail. Janet Martel, the General Manager of Aultsville Theatre said that they had reached the point where replacement of lightbulbs was no longer possible due to the prevalence of LEDs. The theatre cannot switch over to LEDs because they have been told that they cannot be merged into their old technology. Former Cornwall City Councillor, and supporter of the theatre was in the audience at the meeting. If we dont get this funding from the City the doors are closed, and the key is turned, Gardiner told Seaway News implying that the theatre would have to cease operations without a new lighting system. A reason for this, is that the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund, which is expected to contribute the lions share of the funding, requires that 75 percent of the total be gathered before they approve their share. That 75 percent includes the money that the Canadian Cultural Spaces Fund is potentially offering. Currently, the theatre has $40, 000 that they have raised themselves and if they get the $23, 272 from the City of Cornwall, then they will be able to reach the amount they need. However, the theatre has not yet heard back from the Ontario Trillium Fund either. Gardiner said that he had heard some positive things from councillors he had spoken with. During the meeting, both Councillors Elaine MacDonald and Bernadette Clement spoke in support of the theatre. Aultsville is truly a gem in our community, said Councillor MacDonald. Other councillors raised concerns about how Aultsville Theatre rents their space from St. Lawrence College. Janet Martel assured Council that she does not expect the relationship between the college and the theatre to change. The theatre is asking either for a direct grant from the City or an interest free loan. Council voted to refer the request to administration for a report. Aultsville Theatre will be holding a benefit concert on Dec. 15 organized by the Cornwall Concert Series. Tickets are available at Aultsville Theatre and the Civic Complex. CORNWALL, Ontario The Cornwall Community Police Service is asking for the publics assistance in identifying a man involved in the use of counterfeit money within the city of Cornwall. If you can identify this individual you are asked to contact Cst. Scott Virtue at (613)933-5000 ext. 2782 or ext.2404 to leave anonymous information. For a photo of the individual please visit our Facebook page or Twitter account. Hurtigruten has appointed William Harber as President for the Americas, based in its Seattle regional headquarters. He will relocate from Hong Kong and be responsible for Hurtigrutens commercial growth strategy in collaboration with the companys senior leadership team. Building on nearly 125 years of Norwegian polar pioneering know-how and history, Hurtigruten is revolutionizing the global adventure travel industry through new state-of-the-art hybrid expedition vessels and trailblazing itineraries. We are strongly committed to offering the Americas the worlds safest, greenest and most adventurous expedition voyages. I am confident William Harber is the right person to establish our premium offering as a first choice of adventure travel for the modern American explorer, noted Hurtigruten CEO Daniel Skjeldam. For Hurtigruten, Harber is charged with driving sales and profitability across the U.S., Canada, Central and South America, according to the company. He will broaden and deepen key travel agent relationships and open new channels for growth. Im honored Hurtigruten has tapped me for this position and trust the many experiences Ive gained in Asia and in my career in the cruise industry will serve me well in the role. Its an exciting opportunity for growth at such an authentic and storied brand, added William Harber, Hurtigruten President for the Americas. Harbers successor in Asia-Pacific will be named after a brief transition period. Harber has over 20 years of experience, including 13 in the cruise industry. He was most recently Hurtigrutens President for China & Asia-Pacific, successfully establishing the companys regional headquarters and GSA set-up and striking a strategic partnership with Fliggy, Alibabas travel brand. He has served as Sr. Vice President & MD Asia for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and as Vice President, Market Development for Carnival Asia. In 2011, Harber was promoted to Vice President, Carnival Corporate Marketing, working globally across their 10 cruise brands. Harber originally joined Carnivals Miami, FL headquarters in 2004 as a member of the Shared Services team. Earlier in his career, Harber was a management consultant at A.T. Kearney and Director of Product Marketing for a technology start-up. He earned his MBA in Marketing Strategy from Emorys Goizueta Business School and graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor of Industrial & Systems Engineering. Harber succeeds Gordon Dirker who opened Hurtigrutens Americas headquarters in Seattle, WA and set the groundwork to further expand the brand. Cyber attack definition Simply put, a cyber attack is an attack launched from one or more computers against another computer, multiple computers or networks. Cyber attacks can be broken down into two broad types: attacks where the goal is to disable the target computer or knock it offline, or attacks where the goal is to get access to the target computer's data and perhaps gain admin privileges on it. 8 types of cyber attack To achieve those goals of gaining access or disabling operations, a number of different technical methods are deployed by cybercriminals. There are always new methods proliferating, and some of these categories overlap, but these are the terms that you're most likely to hear discussed. Malware Phishing Ransomware Denial of service Man in the middle Cryptojacking SQL injection Zero-day exploits Malware Short for malicious software, malware can refer to any kind of software, no matter how it's structured or operated, that "is a designed to cause damage to a single computer, server, or computer network," as Microsoft puts it. Worms, viruses, and trojans are all varieties of malware, distinguished from one another by the means by which they reproduce and spread. These attacks may render the computer or network inoperable, or grant the attacker root access so they can control the system remotely. Phishing Phishing is a technique by which cybercriminals craft emails to fool a target into taking some harmful action. The recipient might be tricked into downloading malware that's disguised as an important document, for instance, or urged to click on a link that takes them to a fake website where they'll be asked for sensitive information like bank usernames and passwords. Many phishing emails are relatively crude and emailed to thousands of potential victims, but some are specifically crafted for valuable target individuals to try to get them to part with useful information. [ Related: 15 real-world phishing examples and how to recognize them ] Ransomware Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a victim's files. The attacker then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the data upon payment. Users are shown instructions for how to pay a fee to get the decryption key. The costs can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands, and are typically payable to cybercriminals in cyptocurrency. Denial of service A denial of service attack is a brute force method to try stop some online service from working properly. For instance, attackers might send so much traffic to a website or so many requests to a database that it overwhelms those systems ability to function, making them unavailable to anybody. A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack uses an army of computers, usually compromised by malware and under the control of cybercriminals, to funnel the traffic towards the targets. Man in the middle A man in the middle attack (MITM) is a method by which attackers manage to interpose themselves secretly between the user and a web service they're trying to access. For instance, an attacker might set up a Wi-Fi network with a login screen designed to mimic a hotel network; once a user logs in, the attacker can harvest any information that user sends, including banking passwords. Cryptojacking Cryptojacking is a specialized attack that involves getting someone else's computer to do the work of generating cryptocurrency for you (a process called mining in crypto lingo). The attackers will either install malware on the victim's computer to perform the necessary calculations, or sometimes run the code in JavaScript that executes in the victim's browser. SQL injection SQL injection is a means by which an attacker can exploit a vulnerability to take control of a victim's database. Many databases are designed to obey commands written in the Structured Query Language (SQL), and many websites that take information from users send that data to SQL databases. In a SQL injection attack, a hacker will, for instance, write some SQL commands into a web form that's asking for name and address information; if the web site and database aren't programmed correctly, the database might try to execute those commands. Zero-day exploits Zero-days are vulnerabilities in software that have yet to be fixed. The name arises because once a patch is released, each day represents fewer and fewer computers open to attack as users download their security updates. Techniques for exploiting such vulnerabilites are often bought and sold on the dark web and are sometimes discovered by government agencies that controversially may use them for their own hacking purposes, rather than releasing information about them for the common benefit. Recent cyber attacks Deciding which cyber attacks were the worst is, arguably, somewhat subjective. Those that made our list did so because they got a lot of notice for various reasons because they were widespread, perhaps, or because they were signals of a larger, scary trend. Without further ado, here are some of the most notable cyber attacks in recent history and what we can learn from them: Capitol One breach The Weather Channel ransomware U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Perceptics Citrix breach Texas ransomware attacks WannaCry NotPetya Ethereum Equifax Yahoo GitHub Capitol One breach In July of 2019, online banking giant Capitol One realized that its data had been hacked. Hundreds of thousands of credit card applications, which included personally identifying information like birthdates and Social Security numbers, were exposed. No bank account numbers were stolen, but the sheer scale was extremely worrying. Things followed the usual script, with Capitol One making shamefaced amends and offering credit monitoring to those affected. But then things took a turn for the unusual. The stolen data never appeared on the dark web, nor did the hack look like a Chinese espionage operation like the Equifax and Marriott breaches. In fact, the attack was perpetrated by an American named Paige Thompson, aka Erratic. Thompson had previously worked for Amazon, which gave her the background necessary to recognize that Capitol One's AWS server had been badly misconfigured in such a way to leave it quite vulnerable. It initially seemed that Thompson's theft of the data was in the tradition of freelance white-hat hacking and security research: she made little attempt to hide what she was doing, never tried to profit from the data, and in fact was caught because she posted a list of Capitol One's breached directories but no actual data on her GitHub page. But attempts to understand her motivation in the wake of her arrest were increasingly difficult, and it's possible that she was, true to her chosen nickname, erratic, if not undergoing a serious mental health crisis. The Weather Channel ransomware The Weather Channel may not seem like a crucial piece of infrastructure, but for many people it's a lifeline and in April 2019, during a stretch of tornado strikes across the American south, many people were tuning in. But one Thursday morning the channel ceased live broadcasting for nearly 90 minutes, something almost unheard of in the world of broadcast television. It turns out The Weather Channel had fallen victim to a ransomware attack, and while there's been no confirmation of the attack vector, rumors are that it was via phishing attack, one of the most common causes of ransomware infection. The attack demonstrated that the boundary between "television" and "the internet" has more or less been erased, as any TV operation like The Weather Channel would be entirely reliant on internet-based services to operate. It also demonstrated one way to beat ransomware. The Weather Channel didn't fork over any bitcoin; rather, they had good backups of the affected servers and were able to get back online in less than two hours. U.S. Customs and Border Protection/Perceptics The sequence was sadly not that unusual: a hacker breaches a company's servers, gets access to sensitive data, and then demands a ransom. When the executives fail to pay up, the material begins to find its way to the dark web for sale, where the scope of its importance become recognized. The data turned out to be very important indeed: it was stolen from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP), and the irony that the agency dedicated to protecting the U.S. borders couldn't protect its own data wasn't lost on anyone. In fact, much of the blame lay on Perceptics, a contractor that provides all the license plate scanners for the border agency, as well as to a host of other U.S. and Canadian government departments. The stolen photos of cars and drivers had actually been copied from CBP's computers to Perceptics' own servers, in violation of government policy; Perceptics was then hacked, and the data publicized by the attacker "Boris Bullet-Dodger" when ransom negotiations with execs broke down. The case brought up questions about government-contractor relations and the wisdom of allowing the collection of biometric data. While Perceptics' relationship with CBP was suspended in the wake of the attack, the government eventually agreed to keep doing business with the company. Citrix breach When an organization being breached is itself in the cybersecurity business, that's enough to make everyone nervous but it's also a cautionary tale about how even security vendors can have a hard time establishing a security mindset internally. Take Citrix, for example. The company makes VPNs, which help secure millions of internet connections, and has extensive dealings with the U.S. government. But it still fell victim to a "password spraying" attack in March of 2019 essentially, an attack where a hacker attempts to gain access to a system via brute force, by rapidly attempting to login with simple and frequently used passwords (think "password123" and the like). In all likelihood, the attack came from a group associated with the Iranian government. Fortunately, the attackers didn't get very far into Citrix's systems but the company still promised a revamp of its internal security culture. Texas ransomware attacks In August of 2019, computer systems in 22 small Texas towns were rendered useless by ransomware, leaving their governments unable to provide basic services like issuing birth or death certificates. How did a single attacker, using the REvil/Sodinokibi ransomware, manage to hit so many different towns? There was a single point of weakness: an IT vendor who provided services to all of these municipalities, all of which were too small to support a full-time IT staff. But if that sort of collective action opened a weakness, there was a power in collaboration as well. Rather than giving in and paying the $2.5 million ransom demanded, the towns teamed up with the Texas state government's Department of Information Resources. The agency led a remediation effort that had the cities back on their feet within weeks, in contrast with places like Baltimore, where systems were offline for months. WannaCry WannaCry was a ransomware attack that spread rapidly in May of 2017. Like all ransomware, it took over infected computers and encrypted the contents of their hard drives, then demanded a payment in Bitcoin in order to decrypt them. The malware took particular root in computers at facilities run by the United Kingdom's NHS. Malware isn't anything new, though. What made WannaCry significant and scary was the means it used to propagate: it exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows using code that had been secretly developed by the United States National Security Agency. Called EternalBlue, the exploit had been stolen and leaked by a hacking group called the Shadow Brokers. Microsoft had already patched the vulnerability a few weeks before, but many systems hadn't upgraded. Microsoft was furious that the U.S. government had built a weapon to exploit the vulnerability rather than share information about the hole with the infosec community. NotPetya Petya was just another piece of ransomware when it started circulating via phishing spam in 2016; its main claim to fame was that it encrypted the master boot record of infected machines, making it devilishly difficult for users to get access to their files. Then, abruptly in June of 2017, a much more virulent version of the malware started spreading. It was different enough from the original that it was dubbed NotPetya; it originally propagated via compromised Ukrainian accounting software and spread via the same EternalBlue exploit that WannaCry used. NotPetya is widely believed to be a cyberattack from Russia against Ukraine, though Russia denies it, opening up a possible era of states using weaponized malware. Ethereum While this one might not have been as high-profile as some of the others on this list, it deserves a spot here due to the sheer amount of money involved. Ether is a Bitcoin-style cryptocurrency, and $7.4 million in Ether was stolen from the Ethereum app platform in a manner of minutes in July. Then, just weeks later came a $32 million heist. The whole incident raised questions about the security of blockchain-based currencies. Equifax The FBI and DHS jointly issued two new alerts about cyber attacks by the North Korean government. This time, the alerts give details about the North Korean remote administration tool (RAT), dubbed FALLCHILL, as well as the North Korean backdoor Trojan Volgmer. The two newest warnings follow the one issued by DHS and FBI in June; it detailed DeltaCharlie, North Koreas DDoS botnet infrastructure, as well as other malware that is part of North Korean government attackers arsenal. North Korean governments FALLCHILL RAT The technical alert about FALLCHILL, posted on US-CERT, claims North Korean government attackers have been using the malware since 2016 to target aerospace, telecommunications and finance industries. FALLCHILL is a fully functional RAT and the primary component of a command and control (C2) infrastructure that uses multiple proxies to obscure network traffic between Hidden Cobra and a victims systems. Hidden Cobra is the code name the U.S. government uses for the malicious cyber activity of North Korean government hackers. FALLCHILL first collects basic system information and keeps the communication hidden by sending it to the C2 using fake Transport Layer Security (TLS). The basic information collected includes information such as the OS version, processor, system name, MAC and local IP addresses. Built-in functions of FALLCHILL allow the North Korean government hackers to gather information about all installed disks; to search, read, write, move, and execute files; to modify file or directory timestamps; to change the directory for a file or process; to create, start, and terminate a process and its primary thread; and to keep the infection hidden by deleting malware and artifacts from an infected system. Victims machines become infected by visiting a tainted site, by unintentionally downloading it, or by secondary payload when it is delivered via a different malware already infecting the machine. If infected, there can be severe impacts, such as disruption of operations, loss of proprietary or sensitive data, financial losses to restore systems, and a hit to an organizations reputation. The U.S. government identified 83 network nodes, as well as the countries in which the infected IP addresses are registered. The technical analysis includes details pertaining to detection and response, network signatures, host-based and YARA rules, as well as mitigation strategies. North Korean governments backdoor Trojan, Volgmer US-CERT also said the FBI and DHS jointly issued analytic details about Volgmer, a backdoor Trojan used by Hidden Cobra actors. It been observed in the wild targeting government, financial, media, and automotive industries since 2013. Victims boxes usually become infected via spear phishing, but North Korean government hackers can also use custom tools to compromise a system. As a backdoor, Volgmer can gather system information and listing directories, update service registry keys, upload and download files, execute commands, and terminate processes. One sample had botnet controller functionality. According to the alert, Volgmer payloads can be 32-bit executables or dynamic-link library (dll) files. The malware tends to use TCP port 8080 or 8088 to communicate with the C2 server, but some payloads use SSL to obfuscate communications. Persistence can be maintained by installing malware as a service. Volgmer randomly selects a service in which to copy itself, then overwrites that ServiceDLL in the registry entry. Sometimes, Hidden Cobra actors name the service created with various hardcoded words. The U.S. governments analysis of Volgmers infrastructure identified it using 94 static IPs, as well as dynamic IPs registered in India, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Russia. Like the FALLCHILL alert, the federal government included details about detection and response, network signatures, host-based and YARA rules, mitigation strategies, and released indicators of compromise (IOC) and a Malware Analysis Report (MAR). More on North Korea's cyber involvement: In less than a month, a second fraud case involving a Hawaiian credit union is being prosecuted against a former president/CEO and a former employee who allegedly embezzled more than a $1 million. On Monday, Janell Purdy, 40, pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy and six counts of embezzlement in U.S. District Court in Honolulu. She worked as a customer service representative and teller at the $3.1 million First Hawaiian Homes Federal Credit Union in Hoolehua, on the island of Molokai. Allennie Naeole, 55, was indicted on one count of conspiracy, six counts of embezzlement and one count each of making false entries and aggravated identity theft. Naeole, who was the credit unions president/CEO, has not entered a plea as of Tuesday, according to court records. USA TODAY Network reporter's book revisits infamous Judge O'Kicki case As a fugitive in central Europe, Judge O'Kicki insisted on his innocence and vowed vengeance on his enemies. A new book outlines his case and claims. By PTI: By Lalit K Jha Washington, Nov 15 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modis meeting with President Donald Trump in the Philippines shows the "strategic convergences" in geopolitics and economy between India and the US, Indias envoy Navtej Sarna has said. Modi and Trump held their second bilateral meeting in Manila on Monday, on the margins of the East Asia Summit in the Philippines. advertisement Modi held wide-ranging talks with Trump and told him that both nations can rise beyond bilateral ties and work jointly for the future of Asia, reflecting their growing convergence on strategic issues in the Indo-Pacific region. "President Trump and the prime minister have again underlined the closeness that they have between them and the strategic convergences both in geopolitical terms as well as in economic terms that India and the US have been working on," Ambassador to the US Sarna said in his address to US lawmakers and representatives of the Indian corporate leadership at the Capitol Hill. He was speaking on the occasion of the release of a report Indian Roots, American Soil by the Confederation of Indian Industry, according to which 100 Indian companies in the US account for USD 17.9 billion in investment and for generating 113,000 jobs in the US. The India-US closeness and strategic convergences has been evident in the visit of Prime Minister Modi to the US and subsequent visits of Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to India and now again in the meeting between the president and Prime Minister Modi, Sarna said. Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, said it is an exciting time for the US and India. "We have seen a continued growth and momentum building around strengthening of relationship between our two countries," she said. "The centerpiece and kind of a strong foundation of that relationship has always been centered around growth of trade and commerce between the two countries", she said. In 2016, the trade of all US goods and services with India totaled USD 114 billion dollars. Indian companies, she said, have not only added value to US economy but are investing in American communities as well, she said. India was Americas ninth largest trading partner last year, accounting for nearly USD 70 billion in trade which has laid a strong foundation for the two countries to uphold their commitment to. "There is much work to be done," she noted. advertisement Congressman Ami Bera said US-India ties is not a relationship that stops when a new administration comes into the office. "It is one that as (former) President (Barack) Obama said can be the defining partnership of the 21st century. I truly believe that," he said. "An example of that is you know we just walked off the House floor voting for our Defence Authorisation Act. In there is a paragraph talking about India becoming a Major Defence Partner. There are unique opportunities for American and Indian companies to work together...India has the desire to buy some of our military hardware, how do we make that easier...looking at the export control regime on our end," he said. Referring to his recent visit to Japan, Bera said the Japanese are "very bullish" on India. "The Japanese are very bullish on India and the partnership and possibility of trilateral and even quadrilateral relationships," he said. According to influential Congressman Ted Yoho, Modi said just recently following his meeting with Trump that relations between the US and India are not just for our mutual interests but they go much beyond that. "I think that speaks loudly of those beliefs," he said. advertisement "We have the longest serving democracy in the world. (India) has the largest one. And together we can do some great things," Yoho said. More than a dozen influential lawmakers spoke on the occasion. PTI LKJ UZM AKJ UZM --- ENDS --- We use a range of cookies to give you the best possible browsing experience. By continuing to use this website, you agree to our use of cookies. You can learn more about our cookie policy here, or by following the link at the bottom of any page on our site. See our updated Privacy Policy here. Ag Growth International Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes grain and rice handling, storage, and conditioning equipment in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company offers storage equipment comprising grain and bolted bins, hopper bins, smooth wall bins, temporary storage equipment, unloads and sweeps, water tanks, fuel tanks; and conditioning equipment, such as mixed flow dryers, fans and heaters, aerations, airaugers, aeration floors, vents and exhausters, stirrings, and accessories. It also provides portable handling equipment, such as portable augers, conveyors, grain vacs, post pounders, seed treaters, and accessories; and permanent handling equipment, including bucket elevators, chain and belt conveyors, enclosed belt conveyors, distributors, feed handling equipment, screw feeders and conveyors, and spouts and connections. In addition, the company offers towers, catwalks, ladders, all-steel buildings, flat storage buildings; batch blenders, bulk scales, declining weight blenders, vertical blenders, micro-dosing systems, mixers, milling equipment; and controllers, hazard monitoring equipment, monitoring and automation equipment, sampling solutions. Further, it provides cleaning and destoners, rice milling and processing equipment, bin unloads, blending and control systems, Liquid and dry fertilizer blending and conveying equipment, turnkey design and build construction solutions for seed and fertilizer facilities, and farm management software. The company markets its products under the AGI, Airlanco, Batco, Brownie, CMC, Compass, Danmare, Ezee-dry, Frame, Grain Guard, Grainmaxx, Hi Roller, Hutchinson, Improtech, Junge, Keho, Mayrath, Milltec, MMS, Neco, PTM, REM, Sabe, Sentinel, Storm, Suretrack, Tramco, Twister, Westeel, Westfield, Wheatheart, and Yargus brand names. It provides its equipment for agricultural commodities. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada. 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. Advance Auto Parts, Inc. provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts. It also offers air conditioning chemicals and accessories; air fresheners; antifreeze and washer fluids; electrical wires and fuses; electronics; floor mats, seat covers, and interior accessories; hand and specialty tools; lighting products; performance parts; sealants, adhesives and compounds; tire repair accessories; vent shades, mirrors and exterior accessories; washes, waxes and cleaning supplies; and wiper blades. In addition, the company offers air filters; fuel and oil additives; fuel filters; grease and lubricants; motor oils; oil filters, part cleaners and treatments; and transmission fluids for engine maintenance. Further, it offers battery and wiper installation; engine light scanning and checking; electrical system testing; video clinic; oil and battery recycling; and loaner tool program services. Additionally, the company sells its products through its website. It serves professional installers and do-it-yourself customers. The company operates stores under the Advance Auto Parts, Autopart International, and Carquest brands, as well as branches under the Worldpac name. As of April 23, 2022, it operated 4,687 stores and 311 branches in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Canada; and served 1,318 independently owned Carquest branded stores in Mexico, Grand Cayman, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and the British Virgin Islands. The company was founded in 1929 and is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. A female police sub -inspector reacted violently when a woman devotee informed her about an order issued by the temple authorities banning the entry of women devotees wearing a gown. By Divyesh Singh: A temple in the central suburbs of Mumbai has decided to not allow women devotees wearing a gown inside the premises. This order banning women devotees who came wearing a gown was being followed by the locals. However, a female police sub inspector reacted violently when a woman devotee informed her about the rule and raised objection. advertisement A CCTV footage has revealed that Asha Gaikwad, a devotee, stopped sub-inspector Pratiksha Lakde from entering the Tisai temple in Kalyan east as she was wearing a gown. The law-enforcer went on to take law in her hands and started thrashing Asha Gaikwad as this interference was unacceptable to her. Even though Asha fell down after suffering some blows at the hands of Lakde, she didn't stop and kept punching and kicking her while she lay on the ground. The whole incident was recorded in the CCTV cameras installed outside the temple premises. When Asha Gaikwad approached the Kolsewadi police station, the cops only registered a non cognisable complaint against sub-inspector Pratiksha Lakde for the assault. The order passed by the temple authorities is being questioned by several people. "The order from the temple authorities is absurd but it doesn't allow a person who is supposed to maintain law and order getting involved into a violent act and assaulting those supporting the order", said Hemlata Kamble a resident from the same locality. Few locals have demanded that a strict action should be initiated against Lakde for her behaviour. --- ENDS --- AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom. ESCO Technologies Inc. produces and supplies engineered products and systems for industrial and commercial markets worldwide. It operates through Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group, and RF Shielding and Test segments. The Aerospace & Defense segment designs and manufactures filtration products, including hydraulic filter elements and fluid control devices used in commercial aerospace applications; filter mechanisms used in micro-propulsion devices for satellites; and custom designed filters for manned aircraft and submarines. It also designs, develops, and manufactures elastomeric-based signature reduction solutions for U.S. naval vessels; and mission-critical bushings, pins, sleeves, and precision-tolerance machined components for landing gear, rotor heads, engine mounts, flight controls, and actuation systems for the aerospace and defense industries. The Utility Solutions Group segment provides diagnostic testing solutions that enable electric power grid operators to assess the integrity of high-voltage power delivery equipment; and decision support tools for the renewable energy industry, primarily wind and solar. The RF Shielding and Test segment designs and manufactures RF test and secure communication facilities, acoustic test enclosures, RF and magnetically shielded rooms, RF measurement systems, and broadcast and recording studios; and RF absorptive materials and filters, active compensation systems, antennas, antenna masts, turntables, electric and magnetic probes, RF test cells, proprietary measurement software, and other test accessories to perform various tests. It also provides services, such as calibration for antennas and field probes, chamber certification, field surveys, customer training, and various product tests. The company distributes its products through a network of distributors, sales representatives, direct sales teams, and in-house sales personnel. The company was incorporated in 1990 and is based in St. Louis, Missouri. Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual cards, co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts to retail and commercial customers, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms. In addition, it provides debt cancellation products to its credit card customers through online, mobile, and direct mail; healthcare payments and financing solutions under the CareCredit, Pets Best, and Walgreens brands; payments and financing solutions in the apparel, specialty retail, outdoor, music, and luxury industries; and point-of-sale consumer financing for audiology products and dental services. The company offers its credit products through programs established with a group of national and regional retailers, local merchants, manufacturers, buying groups, industry associations, and healthcare service providers; and deposit products through various channels, such as digital and print. It serves digital, health and wellness, retail, home, auto, powersports, jewelry, pets, and other industries. Synchrony Financial was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. By PTI: By Lalit K Jha Washington, Nov 15 (PTI) The next date for the election of a judge in the International Court of Justice will be announced soon, a UN official has said, after a battle between India and the UK for the seat remained deadlocked as neither candidate managed to get the requisite numbers of votes. The battle between Dalveer Bhandari, 70, from India and Britains Christopher Greenwood for the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) seat remained deadlocked as neither could get the requisite numbers of votes in the latest face-off, even after 11 round of elections in the UN General Assembly and Security Council. advertisement Six rounds of voting were held in the General Assembly on Monday, and in total, 11 rounds have been held to date, said Brenden Varma, Spokesperson of the UN General Assembly President. "But neither of the two candidates ? who come from India and the UK ? obtained the required majority in both the General Assembly and Security Council," he said. "The General Assembly will therefore have to meet again on this matter. The date of that next meeting should be announced soon," Varma told reporters. PTI LKJ AJR --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) The Amarnath Shrine Board today faced the wrath of the National Green Tribunal which rapped it for not providing proper infrastructural facilities to pilgrims going to the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas, saying it cant "deprive people of proper darshan". The green panel also took exception to non-compliance of the directions issued by the Supreme Court in 2012 and asked the board what steps have it taken in all these years. advertisement "You have allowed shops on path near the shrine. There are no proper facilities for toilets. Do you even know how humiliating this is for women? Why have you not provided proper infrastructural facilities for pilgrims? "You are giving priority to commercial activities over pilgrims. This is unfair. The sanctity of the shrine has to be maintained but you cant deprive people of proper darshan," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said. The green panel formed a committee of experts headed by additional secretary of Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to submit primary action plan on providing facilities to the pilgrims. The committee also comprises secretary of environment of Jammu and Kashmir, senior scientists from the union environment ministry, G B Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, CEO of Amarnath Shrine Board, an officer not below the rank of brigadier in Army, member secretary of the state pollution control board besides others. The bench said the committee shall submit report on aspects like providing a proper path and declaring the cave as silent zone while maintaining cleanliness in area near the shrine after inspection. The NGT asked the committee to consider declaring the area around the Amarnath Shrine cave as "silence zone" to prevent avalanches and ensure there is prohibition on carrying of religious offerings inside the cave to maintain its pristine nature. The tribunal also suggested replacing the iron rods installed inside the Amarnath cave with security personnel so that pilgrims can get a better view of the shrine. It also asked the committee to consider installing eco- friendly toilets in the area. The direction came after the counsel for the shrine board and its CEO told the bench that they lacked necessary expertise on the infrastructural facilities to the devotees. The NGT also directed the shrine board to submit a status report, by the first week of December, on the compliance of directions issued by the apex court in 2012. The matter is listed for next hearing on December 5. The Amarnath cave shrine is considered to be one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave itself is covered with snow most of the year except for a short period of time in summer when it is open for pilgrims. advertisement The directions came while hearing the plea filed by environment activist Gauri Maulekhi. PTI PKS ZMN --- ENDS --- The following companies are subsidiares of Aramark: 1ST & Fresh LLC, AIL Servicos Alimenticios e Participacoes Ltda., AIM Services Co. 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Read More This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Learn more . The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest, and most recognizable, stock exchanges in the world. The NYSE is in New York City, New York at 11 Wall Street. The NYSE has been in existence since the earliest days of the United States becoming a nation, in 1792 and is primarily made up of blue-chip companies with large market capitalizations. In fact, many of the stocks that make up the Dow Jones Composite Index (i.e. The Dow) are listed on the NYSE. This article gives a brief history of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it covers topics such as what kind of stocks trade on the exchange, what are the listing requirements, how trading is performed, and what the daily price movement of the NYSE tells investors about investor sentiment. What Were the Origins of the NYSE? Today, the New York Stock Exchange is known as the center of the financial universe. However, the exchanges origin is far more humble. On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating a centralized exchange to help provide order to the securities market in what was still a young nation. The "Buttonwood Agreement comes from the tree of the same name under which the founders signed the agreement. An initial benefit of the exchange was how it removed the need for auctioneers when trading commodities like wheat and tobacco and to set a commission rate. The exchange initially focused on government bonds. However, the exchange had no formal home. Business was usually conducted informally in the local coffeehouses. In 1817, the exchange changed its name to the New York Stock & Exchange Board which later became the New York Stock Exchange. At this time, the exchange adopted a constitution that set the rules for trading. A group of stockbrokers met twice a day at 40 Wall Street to trade 30 stocks and bonds. Over time, the exchange moved became the financial hub of the country and moved to its current location in 1865. What Kind of Stocks Trade on the NYSE? As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. Although the NYSE trades stocks of all market capitalizations, its best known for trading the stocks of large cap companies. These have the benefit of being mature companies in mature industries. And many of these companies reward shareholders with dividends. However, that also means that many of these companies are better suited for value investors as opposed to growth investors. In bear markets this stability can be a benefit for investors as these stocks tend to perform less bad than more volatile stocks. But in a bull market, these stocks are not likely to provide investors with the growth that they look for. An interesting fact about how the NYSE and NASDAQ operate is that the companies with the five largest market caps on the NYSE are also listed on the NASDAQ exchange. What Are the Listing Requirements For the NYSE? The NYSE has strict guidelines that govern the types of companies that can list on the exchange. Here are the major requirements that all companies must meet: The company must have at least 2,200 shareholders The company must trade over 100,000 shares per month The company must have a market valuation of over $100 million The company must generate more than $75 million in annual revenue However, there is at least one advantage of having such stringent requirements. That is the companies that meet the requirements generally find it easier to get more investors funds when they hold their initial public offering (IPO). Once a company begins trading on the NYSE, it must continue to meet these requirements. If it doesnt it can be delisted. In addition to these requirements, the stock must continue to trade above $1. If the price of a stock drops below $1 for more than 29 consecutive trading days, the stock receives an Initial Price Violation Notice. At that point, the company has 10 days to provide the exchange with a plan for bringing their shares above $1. How are Trades Executed on the NYSE? For over a century, the floor of the NYSE was the place for investors to be. This meant trades were conducted by traders who ran buy and sell orders across the trading floor looking to broker a deal for their clients. But with the birth of the NASDAQ exchange in 1971, the New York Stock Exchange began conducting electronic trading. However, the NYSE continues to conduct trades in an auction style. Brokers purchase stocks on behalf of their clients or firms. Every order features a broker who will enter the order electronically and a specialist who serves as the market maker for that stock. The specialist posts bid and ask prices and manages the actual execution of the trades. And there are still a handful of stockbrokers who still traffic buy and sell orders physically on the floor of the exchange. How Does the NYSE Signal Investor Sentiment? Like its counterpart, the NASDAQ, the NYSE measures the risk appetite of investors. When the NYSE is moving higher over a length of time, it signals that a risk on environment. Conversely when the NYSE moves lower over a significant period, it signals that investors are moving to a risk off position. Some Final Thoughts on the NYSE Financial news networks plan their programming schedule around the opening and closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Its still considered a distinguished honor when individuals or groups are invited to ring the opening bell. In fact, Warren Buffett is attributed with saying that in the short term, the stock market acts like a voting machine. A fact that many U.S. presidents will attest to. The NYSE is the oldest and most recognizable of all the stock exchanges. It also has the most stringent requirements for inclusion. And those requirements must be maintained even after a stock begins publicly trading on the exchange. Although the NYSE still has a small in-person Trading Floor, much of the trading is done electronically to provide traders with the speed to execute trades. Cenovus Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, develops, produces, and markets crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas in Canada, the United States, and the Asia Pacific region. The company operates through Oil Sands, Conventional, Offshore, Canadian Manufacturing, U.S. Manufacturing, and Retail segments. The Oil Sands segment develops and produces bitumen and heavy oil in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan. This segments Foster Creek, Christina Lake, Sunrise, and Tucker oil sands projects, as well as Lloydminster thermal and conventional heavy oil assets The Conventional segment holds assets primarily located in Elmworth-Wapiti, Kaybob-Edson, Clearwater, and Rainbow Lake operating in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as interests in various natural gas processing facilities. The offshore segment engages in the exploration and development activities. The Canadian Manufacturing segment includes the owned and operated Lloydminster upgrading and asphalt refining complex, which upgrades heavy oil and bitumen into synthetic crude oil, diesel fuel, asphalt, and other ancillary products, as well as owns and operates the Bruderheim crude-by-rail terminal and two ethanol plants. The U.S. Manufacturing segment comprises the refining of crude oil to produce diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, asphalt, and other products. The Retail segment consists of marketing of its own and third-party refined petroleum products through retail, commercial, and bulk petroleum outlets, as well as wholesale channels. Cenovus Energy Inc. was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. By PTI: Alappuzha (Ker), Nov 15 (PTI) A defiant Thomas Chandy, who resigned from the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet today over land encroachment charges, said there was not an iota of truth in the allegations against him. The NCP leader said he would move the Supreme Court against the Kerala High Courts observations against him. The high court had dismissed Chandys plea to quash an inquiry report that indicted him in connection with the land grab allegations. advertisement "Without any basis, not even one per cent of truth, a (TV) channel had telecast reports against me. Later, other channels followed. But the LDF and NCP leadership did not see it seriously," he told reporters at his home town here. Chandy arrived here after handing over his resignation letter to NCP state president, T P Peethambaran Master, instead of directly submitting the same to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The resignation was accepted by Governor P Sathasivam. Chandy, a businessman-turned politician, travelled in his official car from Thiruvananthapuram after resigning, drawing another round of criticism from various sections. Youth Congress activists was seen hurling eggs and waving black flags as his motorcade passed by near Alappuzha. Chandy claimed there were some "errors" in the Alappuzha district collectors report which had held that there were large-scale violations of land rules. The NCP leader had blamed revenue officials for the same. He claimed that the place where his luxury resort was located belonged to his relatives, and that he did not own any land in the area. The NCP leader made it clear that his lawyers would file an appeal in the apex court tomorrow against the high court observations due to which he was forced to resign. Chandy is the second NCP MLA to resign from the state cabinet after A K Saseendran quit after a sleaze audio clip featuring the latter went viral. Meanwhile, Peethambaran said whichever party MLA gets his name cleared first by a court of law, will return as minister. "Chandy resigned as questions were being raised about the credibility of the LDF ministry and not because of the allegations," he told reporters. Asked if the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) was unhappy over four CPI ministers decision to keep away from todays cabinet meeting as Chandy was attending it, Peethambaran said "We have nothing against them. We are not saying whether what the CPI did was right or wrong. You can ask them". PTI UD JRK VS i SRY --- ENDS --- The anti-Padmavati movement has escalated and spread across several parts of the country. By India Today Web Desk: Sanjay Leela Bhansali's magnum opus Padmavati has run into trouble for allegedly incorporating a romantic dream sequence between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji, to cash in on the chemistry between Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh. Though Sanjay Leela Bhansali and the team have vehemently denied that such a scene was ever a part of the film, the protests have only escalated. advertisement Thanks to the extensive media coverage given to the protesters, several groups have joined in, turning the protests into a nationwide movement. KARNATAKA What started as an agitation in Rajasthan has expanded to the South now. Earlier today, over 500 people marched from Bengaluru's Town Hall to Freedom Park with flags and banners to protest the release of Padmavati. The protesters included members of the Bengaluru chapter of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena and other right-wing groups. They are seeking a ban on the release of the film in Bengaluru and plan to approach the district authorities for the same. "We don't want the movie to be released till the objectionable content is deleted. The director did not talk to us before shooting or releasing the teaser," Uday Kumar Singh of Rashtriya Ekatha Manch told NDTV. RAJASTHAN It was in Jaipur that the protests have been the strongest. On January 27, 2017, members of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena vandalised the sets of Padmavati in Jaipur and destroyed expensive film equipment. Not just this, they assaulted Sanjay Leela Bhansali and tore his clothes. He was forced to abandon the shoot, and returned to Mumbai. The group did not stop at that. On March 5, they vandalised the Chittor Fort and smashed mirrors in the Padmini Mahal, where Alauddin Khilji supposedly saw Rani Padmini's reflection. The Shri Rajput Karni Sena claimed that mirrors were not even invented when Rani Padmini lived, and had been installed a few decades ago. From Deepika Padukone's unibrow to her regal look, the first poster of Padmavati won the hearts of netizens, but the Shri Rajput Karni Sena was not impressed. They burnt posters of the film outside the Rajmandir Cinema Hall in Jaipur on September 23, threatening to not allow the release of Padmavati, claiming that Sanjay Leela Bhansali had reneged on his promise to show the film to the group's leaders. On November 3, the Shri Rajput Karni Sena led a protest march from Chittorgarh's Padmavati Jauhar Kund. Lokendra Singh Kalvi, patron of the Sena, issued a warning to the filmmaker, "Pehle thappad khaye the, ab joote khayega (He was slapped last time, but this time, he will be beaten with shoes)." Theatre owners in Rajasthan sought protection, as they were threatened with riots and damage to their property if they screened Padmavati. advertisement Following the protests in Rajasthan, distributors in Rajasthan decided to keep a distance from the period drama until the Shri Rajput Karni Sena and Sanjay Leela Bhansali reached a truce. Sanjay Leela Bhansali released a video where he reiterated that his film contains no dream sequence between Rani Padmini and Alauddin Khilji. Even after that, protests were held in several districts on November 9, including, Dholpur, Bharatpur and Sawai Madhopur. Yesterday, the members of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena went on a rampage at the Akash mall in Kota. They vandalised a theatre for screening the trailer of Padmavati and threatened that "if this film runs in Kota, then not even a single cinema house will stay intact." MAHARASHTRA Sanjay Leela Bhansali shifted base to Kolhapur in Maharashtra after his sets were vandalised in Jaipur, but he found no respite there too. On the night of March 14, about 40-50 unidentified men set fire to the sets there. Petrol bombs and stones were hurled, and costumes and production equipment worth crores were destroyed. advertisement Earlier this month, members of the Akhand Rajputana Seva Sangh took to the streets of Mumbai to protest against the film. 15 of them were detained. MADHYA PRADESH In January, shortly after the attack on Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Jaipur, BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, Akhilesh Khandelwal, announced a reward of Rs 10,000 for anyone who slapped the filmmaker with a shoe. "They (such film personalities) are trying to distort our history to show us in a poor light in public. We can't remain silent anymore. We consider it our responsibility to rein in such forces," he told the media. Earlier this month, the BJP MP of Ujjain, Chintamani Malviya took to Facebook to express his objection to Padmavati. Hurling insults at Sanjay Leela Bhansali's family, he wrote, "How come filmmakers whose women family members change their husbands every day can understand 'Jauhar'? Mental deformity of Mr Bhansali would not be tolerated in the name of freedom of expression. (sic)" In Bhopal, members of the Hindu organisation Sanskriti Bachao Manch (SBM) raised slogans against Padmavati, tore posters of the film and burnt an effigy of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, demanding that the film not be allowed to release in the city. advertisement GUJARAT Last month, an artist in Surat named Karan K made a stunning rangoli of Deepika Padukone in her Rani Padmini avatar. The work of art, which took over 48 hours to complete, was destroyed by a mob of around 100 people chanting "Jai Shri Ram". Calling the vandalism "disgusting and appalling", Deepika urged Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani to take action. Following her tweet, five persons, including four members of the Karni Sena and one from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), were arrested. On October 25, former Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shankersinh Vaghela, demanded that Sanjay Leela Bhansali screen the film for Hindu and Kshatriya leaders before its release and threatened him with "violent protests" in Gujarat otherwise. The ruling party of Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also joined in the protests. The party asked for a temporary stay on the release till the Gujarat Assembly election and wrote to the Election Commission, Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and the Central government for the same. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil demanded a special screening for community leaders and said that if they express any objections, cuts should be made to Padmavati accordingly. UTTAR PRADESH Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) issued a strong warning against the release of Padmavati in Uttar Pradesh for presenting historical inaccuracies. Members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal organised a protest and burned posters of the film in Gonda. In Agra, district president of the Hindu Jagran Manch, Amit Choudhary, said that films that go against Hindu culture will be opposed. BJP leader Raja Mahendra Aridaman Singh also demanded a ban of the period drama for mocking the battle of Chittorgarh and Rani Padmini's dedication towards her honour, which was a matter of Rajput pride. In Varanasi, a women's group representing Rajput women burnt Bhansali's effigy and raised slogans against Bhansali. JHARKHAND The anti-Padmavati movement spread to Jharkhand, where several protesters tore and burnt posters of the film in Ranchi. Numerous right-wing organisations, such as Hindu Jagran Manch, Hindu Mahasabha and Akhil Bharatiya Kshatriya Mahasabha have been opposing the release of the film in Jharkhand. HARYANA Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has demanded a ban on the release of the film not only for allegedly portraying Rani Padmini in a poor light, but also glorifying the illegal practice of 'sati'. In Sirsa, members of the Rajput community burnt an effigy of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and urged theatre owners not to screen the film. WATCH: Karni Sena thugs holding Padmavati hostage --- ENDS --- Humana Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a health and well-being company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Retail, Group and Specialty, and Healthcare Services. The company offers medical and supplemental benefit plans to individuals. It also has a contract with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to administer the Limited Income Newly Eligible Transition prescription drug plan program; and contracts with various states to provide Medicaid, dual eligible, and long-term support services benefits. In addition, the company provides commercial fully insured medical and specialty health insurance benefits comprising dental, vision, and other supplemental health benefits; and administrative services only products to individuals and employer groups, as well as military services, such as TRICARE T2017 East Region contract. Further, it offers pharmacy solutions, provider services, and home solutions services, such as home health and other services to its health plan members, as well as to third parties. As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately 17 million members in medical benefit plans, as well as approximately 5 million members in specialty products. Humana Inc. was founded in 1961 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Padmavati director Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been provided with precautionary security by the Maharashtra government amid growing threats ahead of the release of his film. By India Today Web Desk: The Maharashtra government has provided a precautionary security cover to Padmavati director Sanjay Leela Bhansali amid increasing controversies and growing threats ahead of the release of the film, officials said. The level of security provided to him is not yet clear, and Bhansali has so far not commented on it. However, the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association (IFTDA) has thanked Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the security cover to Bhansali who lives and works in Mumbai. advertisement "We have no words to express our gratitude for providing police protection to our esteemed member," filmmaker Ashoke Pandit said on behalf of the film fraternity. "We commend your assurance to keep the law and order situation in control that speaks volumes of the efficiency of your staff and the police personnel," he said in a letter to Fadnavis. Pandit also urged the state government to "help the victim" release his film without anybody's intrusion and with safety to Bhansali's life so that he continues to make memorable films and help the future generations learn from his legacy. Bhansali has been facing the ire of various groups and self-styled experts on what they term as 'erroneous' depiction of Rajput queen Rani Padmavati. Rumours of a dream sequence between Rani Padmavati and Turk emperor Alauddin Khilji were initially behind the widespread protests and attacks on Bhansali. However, despite several clarifications from the team of Padmavati that there is no such dream sequence, or even a scene with Rani Padmini and Khilji together, the protests have not stopped. In fact, the protests have taken on an all-India form now, with violence erupting in Bengaluru today. There have been protests and violence against Bhansali and opposition to the film right from the time it was being shot at various locales in different parts of India and now, as it prepares for release globally soon. Barring these groups and individuals, the entire film fraternity has expressed support to Bhansali for his latest film. Padmavati, that is scheduled to release on December 1 this year, stars Deepika Padukone in the titular role, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji. ALSO WATCH | Padmavati row: What is the road ahead for Bhansali's film? --- ENDS --- The following companies are subsidiares of Ingersoll Rand: 13125882 Canada Inc., 211 E. Russell Road LLC, 4458664 Canada Inc., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES ASIA PTE. LTD., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES BORROWER S.C.A., ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES LLC, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES MIDDLE EAST FZE, ACCUDYNE INDUSTRIES SERVICES LIMITED, ASTRUM IT GmbH, Accudyne Industries Acquisition S.A r.l, Accudyne Industries Canada Inc., Accudyne Industries S.A r.l., Air Dimensions, Air Dimensions Inc., Albin Pump SAS, BOC Edwards Global Low pressure Air business, CISA S.p.A., Cameron-Centrifugal Compression, Comercial Ingersoll-Rand (Chile) Limitada, Comingersoll-Comercio E Industria De Equipamentos S.A., CompAir, CompAir (Hankook) Korea Co. 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Read More Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. owns and operates utilities, transport, midstream, and data businesses in North and South America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company's Utilities segment operates approximately 61,000 kilometers (km) of operational electricity transmission and distribution lines; 5,300 km of electricity transmission lines; 4,200 km of natural gas pipelines; 7.3 million electricity and natural gas connections; and 360,000 long-term contracted sub-metering services. This segment also offers heating and cooling solutions; gas distribution; water heaters; and heating, ventilation, and air conditioner rental, as well as other home services. Its Transport segment offers transportation, storage, and handling services for merchandise goods, commodities, and passengers through a network of approximately 22,000 km of track; 5,500 km of track network; 4,800 km of rail; 3,800 km of motorways; and 13 port terminals. The company's Midstream segment offers natural gas transmission, gathering and processing, and storage services through approximately 15,000 km of natural gas transmission pipelines; 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas storage; 17 natural gas processing plants; and 3,900 km of gas gathering pipelines, as well as one petrochemical processing complex. Its Data segment operates approximately 148,000 operational telecom towers; 8,000 multi-purpose towers and active rooftop sites; 10,000 km of fiber backbone; 1,600 cell sites and approximately 12,000 km of fiber optic cable; and 2,100 active telecom towers and 70 distributed antenna systems, as well as 50 data centers and 200 megawatts of critical load capacity. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Hamilton, Bermuda. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The following companies are subsidiares of Molina Healthcare: Aetna & Humana - Medicare Advantage, Affinity Health Plan, AmericanWork Inc., Better Health Network, Camelot Care Centers Inc, Children's Behavioral Health Inc., Choices Group Inc., College Community Services, Dockside Services Inc, Family Preservation Services Inc., Family Preservation Services of Florida Inc., Family Preservation Services of North Carolina Inc., Family Preservation Services of Washington D.C. Inc., Family Preservation Services of West Virginia Inc., Florida NetPASS LLC, Hclb Inc., Magellan Complete Care, Maple Star Nevada Inc., Maple Star Oregon Inc., Mercy CarePlus, Molina Clinical Services LLC, Molina Healthcare Data Center Inc., Molina Healthcare of Arizona Inc., Molina Healthcare of California, Molina Healthcare of Florida Inc., Molina Healthcare of Georgia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Molina Healthcare of Iowa Inc., Molina Healthcare of Louisiana Inc., Molina Healthcare of Maryland Inc., Molina Healthcare of Michigan Inc., Molina Healthcare of Mississippi Inc., Molina Healthcare of Nevada Inc., Molina Healthcare of New Mexico Inc., Molina Healthcare of New York Inc., Molina Healthcare of North Carolina Inc., Molina Healthcare of Ohio Inc., Molina Healthcare of Oklahoma Inc., Molina Healthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico Inc., Molina Healthcare of South Carolina LLC, Molina Healthcare of Texas Inc., Molina Healthcare of Texas Insurance Company, Molina Healthcare of Utah Inc., Molina Healthcare of Virginia Inc., Molina Healthcare of Washington Inc., Molina Healthcare of Wisconsin Inc., Molina Holdings Corporation, Molina Hospital Management LLC, Molina Information Systems LLC dba Molina Medicaid Solutions, Molina Medical Management Inc., Molina Pathways LLC, Molina Pathways of Texas Inc., Molina Youth Academy, NextLevel Health Illinois, Pathways Community Corrections Inc., Pathways Community Services LLC, Pathways Community Support of Texas Inc., Pathways Health and Community Support LLC, Pathways Human Services LLC., Pathways of Arizona Inc., Pathways of Delaware Inc., Pathways of Idaho LLC, Pathways of Maine Inc., Pathways of Massachusetts LLC, Pathways of Oklahoma Inc., Pathways of Washington Inc., Providence Community Services, Providence Human Services, Raystown Developmental Services Inc., The Game of Work LLC, The RedCo Group Inc., Total Care Medicaid plan, Transitional Family Services Inc., Unisys -Health Information Management, and YourCare Health Plan. Read More Bar Harbor Bankshares operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides commercial, lending, retail, and wealth management banking services. It accepts various deposit products, including interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand accounts, savings accounts, time deposits, and money market deposit accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate loans, such as multi-family, commercial construction and land development, and other commercial real estate classes; commercial and industrial loans, including loans to commercial and agricultural businesses, and tax exempt entities; residential real estate loans consists of mortgages for 1-4 family housing; and consumer loans comprises home equity loans, lines of credit, auto, and other installment lending. In addition, it provides life insurance, annuity, and retirement products, as well as financial planning services; and third-party investment and insurance services. Further, the company offers trust and estate administration, wealth advisory, and investment management services to individuals, businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and municipalities; and 401K plan, financial, estate and charitable planning, investment management, family office, municipal, and tax services. It operates 53 locations across Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Bar Harbor, Maine. Judging by what has already been released, we can very reasonably expect that there will some inaccuracies even in the rest of the film, Mewar royal MK Vishvaraj Singh said. By India Today Web Desk: Mewar royal MK Vishvaraj Singh has cautioned against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavati in an interview with India Today, suggesting the film is likely to contain inaccuracies that will hurt public sentiments. Speaking to India Today TV's Rajdeep Sardesai, Singh, the son of the Maharana of the Mewar dynasty Mahendra Singh Mewar, said based what has been seen of Padmavati so far, it could be "reasonably" assumed that the film will have inaccuracies in how it portrays history. advertisement Notably, recently MK Vishvaraj Singh is the Mewar royal who recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Censor Board chief Prasoon Joshi, requesting them to withhold the certification and release of Bhansali's Padmavati . In his letter, Singh asked the government to safeguard the history and dignity of its citizens. He said the movie's makers haven't come up with a well-established and accepted historical source, and such errors can't be pointed out if the screening is done now. In his interview with India Today, Vishvaraj Singh said no sources other than the poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi had been mentioned so far, and that Jayasi "had the humility to accept that he is a poet, not a historian." "There is no other name come up...who has been referred to, no other authority," he said. And what about the argument that the movie needs to be seen first before any judgments can be made? "Judging by what has already been released, we can very reasonably expect that there will some inaccuracies even in (the) rest of the film," Vishvaraj Singh said. With just two weeks left for its official release, protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Padmavati have been raging in many parts of the country. WATCH VIDEO | Padmavati scion MK Vishvaraj Singh: Based on what has been released, we can reasonably expect inaccuracies --- ENDS --- By PTI: (Eds: Updating with fresh inputs) Lucknow, Nov 15 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government today apprised the Centre that the release of Bollywood film "Padmavati" on December 1 will pose a law and order problem for the state. In a letter written to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, UP Principal Secretary (Home), Arvind Kumar said the Censor board should be apprised about the public resentment over the alleged distortion of facts in the movie. advertisement "The Censer Board members should take a decision after taking into account peoples views. They should be apprised about it. "It has come to the notice through intelligence reports that the films producers have presented the movie for Censor Board clearance. After the release of the trailer of the movie on October 9, various social and other organisations opposed the film," the letter said. Kumar said such strong protests has created law and order problems in the state. The letter further stated that "in view of the civic polls, polling for which is scheduled on November 22, November 26 and November 29 and the counting on December 1, and also the Barawafat procession by Muslims on December 2, the films release can pose serious security issues". Taking precautionary measures ahead of the scheduled release of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed movie, Uttar Pradesh DGP Sulkhan Singh had earlier asked the force to remain extra vigilant. "Keeping in view the protests against the movie by some organisations, the force should remain alert, especially at all malls and cinema halls with anti-riot equipment," Singh said in his directives to all district police chiefs. "Enough police force should be kept in reserve so that it can be deployed when needed. Local intelligence units should also be alerted to keep an eye of unscrupulous elements so that effective timely action is taken," he said. All the SHOs and senor police officers should do patrolling and keep an eye on the situation to avoid any untoward incident. "In view of the (possible) dharna, agitation, traffic jam, arsoning - all measures should be taken in advance and strict legal action initiated against those involved in such acts," he said. Bhansali is facing the ire of various groups, who allege improper "depiction" of legendary queen Rani Padmavati in the movie. "Padmavati" stars Deepika Padukone in the titular role. Shahid Kapoor essays the role of Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh plays Alauddin Khilji. PTI ABN SRY --- ENDS --- Nelnet, Inc. engages in loan servicing, communications, education technology, services, and payment processing businesses worldwide. The Loan Servicing and Systems segment provides loan conversion, application processing, borrower updates, customer service, payment processing, due diligence procedures, funds management reconciliation, and claim processing services. This segment also provides student loan servicing software; business process outsourcing services specialized in contact center management, such as inbound calls, outreach campaigns and sales, and interacting with customers through multi-channels. The Education Technology, Services, and Payment Processing segment offers financial management services; school information system software; website design and cost effective admissions software; FACTS Giving, a donation platform; and customized professional development and coaching services, educational instruction services, and technology products that aid in teacher and student evaluations. It also offers tuition payment plans, and service and technology for student billings, payments, and refunds; solutions for in-person, online, and mobile payment experiences on campus; payment processing services, such as credit card and electronic transfer; faith community engagement, giving management, and learning management services and technologies; and an integrated commerce payment platform, financial management, and tuition payment plan services, as well as a school management platform that provides administrative, information management, financial management, and communication functions for K-12 schools. The Communications segment provides fiber optic service to homes and businesses for internet, television, and telephone services. The Asset Generation and Management segment acquires, manages, and owns loan assets. The Nelnet Bank segment operates internet industrial banks. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska. 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. PennyMac Financial Services, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the mortgage banking and investment management activities in the United States. It operates through three segments: Production, Servicing, and Investment Management. The Production segment is involved in the origination, acquisition, and sale of loans. It sources first-lien residential conventional and government-insured or guaranteed mortgage loans. The Servicing segment engages in the servicing of newly originated loans, and execution and management of early buyout transactions and servicing of loans. It performs loan administration, collection, and default management activities, including the collection and remittance of loan payments, response to customer inquiries, accounting for principal and interest, holding custodial funds for the payment of property taxes and insurance premiums, counseling delinquent borrowers, and supervising foreclosures and property dispositions, as well as administers loss mitigation activities, such as modification and forbearance programs. The Investment Management segment is involved in sourcing, performing diligence, bidding, and closing investment asset acquisitions; managing correspondent production activities for PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust; and managing acquired assets. PennyMac Financial Services, Inc. was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Westlake Village, California. By PTI: Islamabad, Nov 15 (PTI) A Pakistani anti-graft court today formally began trial of ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his family members in corruption cases linked to the Panama Papers scandal as two prosecution witnesses recorded their statements against them. As the trial began, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecution presented its first two witnesses in the court - Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Joint Registrar Sidra Mansoor and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Inland Revenue Department representative Jahangir Ahmad. advertisement Mansoor recorded her statement in the Avenfield flats case, telling the court that she had appeared before the investigation officer in Lahore on August 18, and provided NAB documents containing the Sharif familys financial records, the Dawn reported. "The records that NAB has presented in court hold my signatures and thumb impressions," Mansoor said, adding that among other things the records also contained audit reports of the Sharif familys various businesses. In her statement, Mansoor said the Hudaibiya Paper Mills audit reports consistently showed Rs 49,46,000 in the companys accounts for five years between 2000 to 2005. When Sharifs lawyer, Khawaja Haris, was given the floor to cross-question the first witness, he observed that the audit reports submitted by the SECP to NAB were photocopies and did not have the companys stamp on them. Defending the authenticity of the documents, Mansoor said that the photocopies were provided to the SECP by the Sharifs company as per the law. FBR?s Jahangir Ahmad also recorded his witness statement and said that all tax records that NAB had provided to the court were given to the accountability body by his office. Ahmad has been called to appear in court again on November 22 for cross-questioning in the next hearing. While the accountability court accepted Sharifs application for exemption from court hearings till November 27, it only conditionally allowed his daughter Maryam one months exemption from court. Both Sharif, 67, and Maryam filed separate applications for exemption from future court hearings. Sharif, in his application, had asked to be exempted from trial hearings as the next spell of his wifes chemotherapy is about to begin. Maryam had said that she would present herself in court whenever there is a hearing. However, she requested the court allow Jahangir Jadoon to represent her in court in case she had to leave the country in case of an emergency. The NAB prosecutors had objected to both applications. Talking to media later, Sharif claimed that the Panamagate verdict was given to tell the accountability court to make sure he is punished. advertisement He added that the language used in the Panamagate verdict mirrors the language that his political opponents use. "These courts have double standards. On one had we can all see the way my case is being treated, on the other we see how other peoples cases are treated," he said. The court began proceedings against the three accused even though the Islamabad High Court (IHC) admitted Sharifs petition challenging the accountability courts refusal to club three separate references against him and fixed November 20 as the date for the next hearing. This is the second time the former prime minister moved the IHC to club the three references. Earlier, the high court had accepted a petition and ordered on November 3 that the matter should be decided by the trial court. However, Accountability Judge Bashir had rejected the plea on November 8. A five-member bench of the Supreme Court on July 28 had directed NAB to file cases against Sharif and his children in the accountability court and directed the trial court to decide the references within six months. advertisement NAB had filed three cases on September 8 against Sharif and his family, and another case against Finance Minister Ishaq Dar. The three cases against the Sharifs are related to the Flagship Investment Ltd, the Avenfield (London) properties and Jeddah-based Al-Azizia Company and Hill Metal Establishment. The former premier and his sons, Hassan and Hussain, have been named in all three NAB cases, while Maryam and husband (Capt.) Muhammad Safdar have been named only in the Avenfield reference. PTI PMS ZH --- ENDS --- Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. operates as bank holding company for the Prosperity Bank that provides financial products and services to businesses and consumers. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand, savings, money market, and time accounts, as well as and certificates of deposit. The company also offers 1-4 family residential mortgage, commercial real estate and multifamily residential, commercial and industrial, agricultural, and non-real estate agricultural loans, as well as construction, land development, and other land loans; consumer loans, including automobile, recreational vehicle, boat, home improvement, personal, and deposit account collateralized loans; and consumer durables and home equity loans, as well as loans for working capital, business expansion, and purchase of equipment and machinery. In addition, it provides internet banking, mobile banking, trust and wealth management, retail brokerage, mortgage services, and treasury management, as well as debit and credit cards. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 273 full-service banking locations comprising 65 in the Houston area, including The Woodlands; 30 in the South Texas area including Corpus Christi and Victoria; 63 in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area; 22 in the East Texas area; 29 in the Central Texas area, including Austin and San Antonio; 34 in the West Texas area, including Lubbock, Midland-Odessa and Abilene; 16 in the Bryan/College Station area; 6 in the Central Oklahoma area; and 8 in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area doing business as LegacyTexas Bank. Prosperity Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1983 and is based in Houston, Texas. By PTI: Ashgabat (Turkmenistan), Nov 15 (PTI) Pakistan has emerged as the "largest wall in history", inhibiting connectivity between India and Afghanistan, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar said today. Speaking at the 7th Meeting of Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan (RECCA) here, Akbar accused Pakistan of committing crime against the Afghan people by blocking normal access between India and Afghanistan. advertisement RECCA was initiated in 2005 to support the peace process in Afghanistan and build greater stability through economic co-operation in South, West and Central Asian regions. "India has always conveyed its readiness to receive export laden Afghan trucks at its Integrated Check Point at Attari on the India-Pakistan border. However, Pakistan has regrettably chosen to block normal access between India and Afghanistan," Akbar told the gathering. "In effect, Pakistan has emerged as the largest wall in history, inhibiting connectivity between India and Afghanistan. This blockade is a crime against the people of Afghanistan; for it is their welfare which is affected the most," the minister added. For India, RECCA is vital because, as a powerful engine for economic growth, it shapes the aspirations of the young, Akbar said, adding that India believes in both bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to help the Afghan economy. He rued that despite visible and tangible improvements, Afghanistan continues to face a multitude of challenges such as terrorism, low investment, blocked or interrupted connectivity and fluctuating institutional capacity. Noting that Indias overall developmental assistance to Afghanistan since 2001 has amounted to over USD 2 billion and in September 2016, it pledged another USD 1 billion assistance to the country, Akbar said the thrust of New Delhis efforts has been on capacity building, human resource development, infrastructure, connectivity, trade and investment. He said a key priority for India is building robust, reliable and year round connectivity for Afghanistan because the lack of connectivity directly impacts the economic, security and political stability in the war-torn country. Asserting that the trilateral transit and transport agreement via Chabahar between India, Iran and Afghanistan in May 2016 was a milestone, he said the first ship carrying Indian wheat grain assistance to Afghanistan reached Chabahar from where it was taken overland to Afghanistan this month. "It is the beginning of a new era of enhanced connectivity for Afghanistan, West Asia and beyond to the larger Eurasian regions," he said, adding that another major milestone was the India-Afghanistan Air Freight Corridor, which began operations in June 2017. advertisement He said that nearly USD 250 million worth of deals were discussed between businessmen and entrepreneurs of the two countries at the India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Show in September 2017 in New Delhi, and several were finalised. PTI ZH AKJ ZH --- ENDS --- Snap Inc. is a social media company operating globally. The company was founded in September 2011 by Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy. Originally known as Snapchat, the company changed its name to Snap in order to represent its offerings better as it grew over the years. The companys headquarters are in Santa Monica, California and it is a very tightly held company. The original founders, Evan Speigel and Bobby Murphy own a combined 45% of non-dilutable shares with ownership transferable to the other upon death. The two remain active in the company today serving on the board and acting as CEO (Speigel) and CTO (Murphy). The company was formerly known as Snapchat, Inc. and changed its name to Snap Inc. in September 2016. Snap Inc. was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Over the years it has been courted by most of the big tech companies including Facebook and Google but has always opted to remain a standalone company. The business went public in 2017 and raised $30 billion on its opening day which is about 10 times the expected amount. Today, Snap operates as a camera company internationally. The companys main revenue streams are Snapchat, a mobile app for cameras and communications, and Spectacles, a wearable augmented reality device. Snapchat is a camera app that allows users to take pictures and tell stories, the platform also permits ad sales which is an integral part of the revenue and earnings. The companys mission? To empower people to express themselves in todays digital world. Spectacles is a hardware device that can connect with Snapchat to deliver pictures and video from a point-of-view perspective. The company has since made three upgrades to the original version and has a Next Generation model available too. The Next Generation of Spectacles are not intended for sale but will be made available to creators who wish to push the boundaries of video and digital communications. In October 2022 the company reported it had more than 347milion daily active users with more than 250 million engaging with AR each day. The platform had more than 250,000 Lens creators (Lenses are AR experiences) with more than 2.5 million lenses created. There were more than 6 billion lens plays each day and more than 75% of 13-34-year-olds in 20 countries were users. The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen France SAS, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Suzhou Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel Ireland Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Brooks Instrument Shanghai Co. Ltd, Buell Industries Inc., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS Australia Pty Limited, CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures Australasia S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Coeur Shanghai Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Denison Mayes Group Limited, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., E2M Production B.V.., E2M Technologies B.V.., E2M Technologies Inc.., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO Holding AG, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, Exhibit 21, FEG Investments L.L.C., Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., Filtertek SAS, GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech Taicang Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Belgium B.V., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart International Singapore Pte. Ltd., Hobart Japan K.K., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components Chongqing Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components Langfang Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium B.V., ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS UK Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW China Investment Company Limited, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Construction Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Services Manila Inc., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Contamination Control Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Deutschland GmbH, ITW Diagraph GmbH, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW EU Holdings Ltd., ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.L., ITW European Finance Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW European Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Thailand Ltd., ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France Luxembourg S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW Materials Technology Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Ningbo Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology China Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers Wujiang Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion Shenzhen Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials Suzhou Co. Ltd., ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment Shanghai Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films Shanghai Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Illinois Tool Works Chile Limitada, Illinois Tool Works ITW Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Inc., Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, Instron Shanghai Ltd., Instron Thailand Limited, International Leasing Company LLC, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., Itw Spraytec, KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems Canada Inc., Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MTS 2 LLC., MTS 3 LLC., MTS China Holdings LLC, MTS Europe Holdings LLC, MTS Holdings France S.a.r.l., MTS Japan Ltd.., MTS Korea Inc.., MTS Systems China Co. Ltd., MTS Systems Corporation, MTS Systems Danmark ApS., MTS Systems Europe B.V., MTS Systems Finance C.V.., MTS Systems Germany GmbH, MTS Systems Holding B.V.., MTS Systems Hong Kong Incorporated, MTS Systems Limited, MTS Systems Norden Aktiebolag, MTS Systems S.r.l, MTS Systems., MTS Systems.., MTS Sytems Do Brazil, MTS Testing Solutions India Private Limited., MTS Testing Systems Canada Ltd., Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology Suzhou Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited Enping, Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners Shanghai Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., R&D Engineering A/S., R&D Prague s.r.o., R&D Steel ApS., R&D Test Systems A/S., R&D Tools and Structures A/S., RDGDK Engineering Private Limited, Ramset Fasteners Hong Kong Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco Japan Inc., Simco Nederland B.V., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes B.V., Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Hong Kong Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Shanghai Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stokvis Tapes Taiwan Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes Tianjin Co. Ltd., Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Subsidiaries, Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek China Limited, Teknek Japan Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Kunshan Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta Global Limited, Vesta Guangzhou Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil South Africa Pty Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, and Zip-Pak International B.V.. Read More By PTI: Srinagar, Nov 15 (PTI) After his "PoK belongs to Pakistan" remark last week, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah today made another controversial statement saying Pakistan was "not weak to allow India to take that part of Jammu and Kashmir under its occupation". Addressing party workers in Uri area of north Kashmirs Baramulla district, the former chief minister said, "How long shall we keep saying that (PoK) is our part? It (PoK) is not their fathers share. That (PoK) is Pakistan and this (J-K) is India." advertisement He said 70 years have "passed but they (India) could not get it (PoK)". "Today, they (India) claim it is our part. So take it (PoK), we are also saying please take it (from Pakistan). We will also see. They (Pakistan) are not weak and are not wearing bangles. They too have atom bomb. Before we think about war, we should think how we will live as humans," Abdullah said. The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar had raked up controversy last week when he said that PoK belongs to Pakistan and it wont change even if the two countries fight wars against each other. "I tell them in plain terms not only the people of India, but also to the world that the part (of J-K) which is with Pakistan (PoK) belongs to Pakistan and this side to India. This wont change. Let them fight how many wars they want to. This wont change," he had said. His comments drew the ire of the BJP and a case was also filed against him in Bihar. "A case has been filed against me. That too by a Muslim. May God protect him. Look at his situation, he does not know Kashmir. He does not know our situation. They (Pakistan) drop a bomb, common people and soldiers die here (in Kashmir) and when a bomb is dropped from here, our people and soldiers also die there (PoK). Till when would this storm continue? Till when would the blood of innocents continue to flow," he told his party workers. He said he hoped a day would come when people would move freely across the Line of Control (LoC). "A day will come when you will cross the Line of Control (LoC) in such a manner as if going from one house to another. Have belief on this that such a day will come and without that, there would be no peace in this country," he said. PTI SSB MIJ ZMN --- ENDS --- "Hike in charges by municipal corporations has resulted in people resorting to roadside parking or using facilities at malls," the Delhi government said in a letter addressed to LG Anil Baijal. The parking fee hike implemented to counter air pollution is proving counterproductive, the Delhi government has said. By Mail Today Bureau: Delhi transport minister Kailash Gahlot on Wednesday urged Lt. Governor Anil Baijal to reconsider the fourfold hike in parking charges, effected to tackle alarming pollution levels, saying that the move is proving to be counterproductive. The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) - which owns 92 major parking lots in posh markets and colonies such as Nehru Place, Bhikaji Cama and Saket - also came out with a press note by late evening that it was withdrawing the hiked charges from November 16. advertisement Mail Today had first reported the anomaly in the decision on November 15, quoting senior officials of SDMC's parking cell, that how it was leading to more congestion, pollution, street fights and car parking in unauthorised lots. In his letter to Baijal on Tuesday, the minister pointed out that due to the hike, people are likely to use their own vehicles instead of parking them at Metro stations and using public transport. "Hike in charges by municipal corporations has resulted in people resorting to roadside parking or using facilities at malls," he said. "This decision is not fulfilling the desired objective. Even the NGT has directed the Delhi government to immediately reconsider the decision," he wrote. In its November 11 order, the Tribunal had questioned the environmental impact of the hike in parking charges while directing the government to reconsider it. Under Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), implemented in view of severe air pollution in the city, Baijal had directed municipal corporations, Delhi Metro and DDA to effect a four- fold hike in parking charges at their facilities. --- ENDS --- By PTI: Gadchiroli, Nov 15 (PTI) NCP president Sharad Pawar today said suicides by farmers in Maharashtra continued unabated as the farm loan waiver package announced by the state government in June this year remained unimplemented. He said the Rs 71,000 crore loan waiver implemented by the erstwhile Manmohan Singh government had not only boosted agri output but also checked suicides by farmers, contrary to the current scenario. advertisement "The loan waiver announced by the then UPA government under Manmohan Singh not only brought down the number of suicides by farmers but also improved agricultural production. It turned the country into the biggest exporter of some food grains," the former Union agriculture minister said while addressing a rally of farmers here on the first day of his four-day Vidarbha tour. He said the suicides by farmers continue unabated because the state government has not implemented the loan waiver it had announced in June this year. Pawar appealed to the gathering to give a "befitting reply to the government when time comes". The NCP chief said the ruling dispensation has failed to keep its promise of giving 50 per cent more Minimum Support Price (MSP) than agriculture produces cost. "There was a time when the government had to beg for food grains before other countries and our people had to consume sub-standard food. At that time farmers who produced bumper crops saved the prestige of the government. But now the same farmers are ending their lives," he said. He also attacked the GST and demonetisation during his address. Pawar said the GST structure should be simplified. He also attacked the government over its handling of the killing of minorities and Dalits in the name of "gau raksha" (protection of cows). "Now, the value of the cows life has become more than the human life and the government is doing nothing," he said. Referring to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths statement that the word secularism is the "biggest lie" spoken since Independence, Pawar said the remarks are "unconstitutional". "Now people are dictated even about their food choices which is unjustified. Does it mean that jawans on borders now have to seek permission to eat meat or eggs?" he asked. Pawar recalled the contribution of former state Home Minister and NCP leader late R R Patil in bringing development to the naxal-affected Gadchiroli district. PTI CORR NSK --- ENDS --- advertisement Thomas Chandy is the third minister to leave the LDF government in Kerala in the last 17 months. By Jeemon Jacob: Kerala's Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, facing indictment in a land grab case, resigned from the Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet today. He is the third minister to leave the LDF government in Kerala in the last 17 months. Chandy's resignation letter was handed over to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) state secretary TP Peethambaran. The resignation followed a series of meetings this morning in state capital Thiruvananthapuram, including the state cabinet's. Chandy had also met Vijayan before the cabinet meeting. advertisement Speaking to the media after meeting Vijayan, Peethamabaran said the resignation letter has been handed over to the chief minister. "All the details will be told to you at 2 pm," he said. WHO IS THOMAS CHANDY? Chandy's attempts to remain in power had damaged both the ruling LDF and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Chandy, who was the richest minister in Pinarayi cabinet, had tried his best to delay resignation from the cabinet despite High Court's ruling against him in shady land deal cases. Chandy, who also runs a five star resort in Alapuzha -- the heartland of back water tourism in the state -- had allegedly encroached the water body for his resorts and constructed road through paddy fields illegally. Pressure mounted on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to sack Thomas Chandy from his cabinet after CPI Minister boycotted cabinet meeting in protest against the tainted Transport Minister attending the cabinet meeting. Four Ministers -- Agriculture Minister Sunilkumar, Civil Supplies Minister Thilothaman, Forest Minister K.Raju and Revenue Minister Chandrasekharan -- boycotted the cabinet meeting today and sent a note to Chief Minister that CPI Ministers didn't like to attend cabinet meeting in protest against Chandy's presence in the meeting. While briefing the media, Chief Minister expressed his displeasure against CPI Ministers boycotting the cabinet meeting. "It was an extraordinary move from the part of CPI ministers taking a decision not to attend the cabinet meeting. LDF Co-ordination Committee met me on Sunday to take an appropriate decision in Thomas Chandy's land deal issue and seek opinion of NCP's national leadership," CM Vijayan said. "On Tuesday, High Court of Kerala considered a petition filed by Thomas Chandy and others and rejected his petition on the grounds that it was unconstitutional. I met Thomas Chandy and NCP leader TP Peethambaran Master today morning and they had informed me that they would consult NCP national leadership and get back to me. I'm waiting for their response," the chief minister explained. Chief Secretary Dr KM Abraham, who was asked to submit the report on the land deals of Thomas Chandy, reported that Thomas had violated land laws. His report is with CM Vijayan. advertisement Chief Minister also had an informal discussion with CPM state Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan yesterday and concluded that delay in his resignation may damage the image of his government. CPM Minister G Sudhakaran has already made remarks that Chandy should go. NCP, meanwhile, is exploring the possibility of the chief minister granting leave to Thomas Chandy to go for treatment in the US. But the chief minister was not in favour of such undue privileges for Chandy. "You may consult your leadership, I will take a decision," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told Chandy and Pethambaran Master. --- ENDS --- Introduced in 2000, Bharat Stage norms are emission standards set up the Centre to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment. By Rahul Shrivastava, Ashutosh Mishra, Balkrishna: The Petroleum Ministry will introduce Bharat Stage VI norms (Euro-VI emission norm) next year to curb pollution in the national capital, Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Wednesday. "Taking into account the serious pollution levels in Delhi and adjoining areas, Petroleum Ministry in consultation with public sector oil marketing companies has decided for preponement of BS-VI grade auto fuels in national capital territory of Delhi with effect from April 1, 2018 instead of April 1, 2020," the Petroleum Ministry said in a statement. advertisement The next big switch, which come in April 2020, is when vehicles sold in Delhi need to be BS-VI compliant to be eligible for registration. Since introduction of cleaner fuel in Delhi alone can't end the national capital's woes, the Petroleum Ministry has asked oil manufacturing companies (OMCs) to explore the possibility of introducing BS-VI fuels in all of NCR - which includes areas of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - by April 1, 2019. Happy to share that Government has decided to prepone the introduction of BS-VI grade Fuel in NCT of Delhi w.e.f. 1st April 2018 in place of 1st April 2020 as a sincere effort to curb the vehicular pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas.- Dharmendra Pradhan (@dpradhanbjp) November 15, 2017 Introduced in 2000, Bharat Stage norms are emission standards set up the Centre to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment. The norms are enforced in accordance with the timeline and standards set up by the Central Pollution Control Board, which comes under the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change The higher the fuel standard a vehicle complies with, the less polluting it is. Euro-VI grade fuel contains 10 parts per million (ppm) of sulphur. Euro-IV fuels contain 50 ppm. As well, particulate matter emission for diesel cars and nitrogen oxide levels are way lower in BS-VI norms. Implementation of the BS-V standard was earlier scheduled for 2019. This has now been skipped. BS VI, originally proposed to come in by 2024, was first advanced to 2020. Now, the deadline is April 1, 2018. BOTH GOOD AND BAD NEWS There's good news in the short-term. Vehicle owners who now drive BS-IV-compliant vehicles can shift to BS-VI fuels without changing their engines, or making any new investments. But eventually, a rule that requires vehicles to be BS-VI fuel-compliant will kick in. Then, buyers will have to shell out Rs 15,000-Rs 30,000 more than they do now. COST OF INVESTMENT TO BE TRANSFERRED TO CONSUMER? Oil manufacturing companies are making large investments for the switch from BS-IV to BS-VI. The petroleum ministry hasn't yet said whether the cost of investment will be transferred to the consumer in form of a fuel price hike. A BRIEF HISTORY OF EMISSION STANDARDS advertisement When the government began discussions on the possibility of a leapfrog in emission norms, automobile companies were reluctant. They said a speedy switch to BS-VI norm vehicles - with a change in technology - would need time and investment. But Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari put his foot down. He said car-makers must follow the same standards in India that they do elsewhere. "I do not agree with auto-manufacturer associations. When the same car manufacturers can build cars following the same norms across the globe, then why can't they build it here? The government is not reconsidering its decision," he said. The switch isn't going to be easy. In April 2010, the existing BS-IV norms were introduced in 13 cities excluding the NCR. And it has taken seven years for the whole country to get fuel with the same emission levels. April 1, 2017 was the deadline for the complete nationwide switch to BS-IV. The automobile industry challenged the "mandatory switch" clause in court, claiming that the order meant that only BS-IV vehicles could be manufactured from the said date, while sales of BS-III stocks may continue. In September 2016, the EPCA (Environment Pollution Control Authority) issued a warning that the order was explicit - that manufacturing of BS-III compliant vehicles (sales and registration included) had to end completely before the deadline. advertisement And when the EPCA put its foot down, auto-makers announced discounts and offers to clear BS-III stocks. Since the court's order in 2014 endorsed two deadlines (April 1, 2016 for BS-IV compliant new models and April 1,2017 for existing models), auto companies earned time. But the next stage will be different. Manufacturing, sales and registration of BS-IV vehicles may not be permitted after March 31, 2020. To begin switching car, bike truck and other auto models to BS-VI, the industry will need to begin introducing them in the months preceding the deadline. This means auto makers need a clear timeline - especially from oil companies - on BS-VI fuel availability across the country. KEJRIWAL MEETS KHATTAR; AMARINDER REFUSES TO MEET DELHI CM Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh today to discuss ways to check stubble burning and vehicular pollution. At a joint press conference, Kejriwal said he and Khattar had "a very positive discussion," and that they would "take all steps possible to tackle the situation." advertisement Khattar said Haryana would work to ensure that air quality levels in the capital improved, and noted that satellite data showed stubble burning had "significantly reduced" in his state. However, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh refused to meet Kejriwal. He asked the Delhi CM to refrain from "trying to politicise" a serious issue. The matter needed the Centre's intervention, he said. (Inputs from PTI) WATCH | My Take with Rajdeep Sardesai | Sustainable solution for air pollution in North India --- ENDS --- Its always nice to be recognized for the work you do. Its even nicer to be recognized on a national level by the students you work with. Christina Elgee, the nurse manager for Dalhousie Student Health & Wellness, recently received the 2017 Canadian Nursing Students Association Award for the Recognition of Preceptors and Mentors. Elgee was nominated by former Nursing student, Martha Paynter, and the class of 2017 for the contribution she has made to the education of Nursing students at Dalhousie, her progressive thinking and her passion for social justice. Christina is the most creative, progressive nurse leader, says Paynter. She trusts her students, enables their success, and supports their vision. Josh Vriends, a second-year accelerated Nursing student, says Elgee was the ideal person to receive the award because of her dedication to students. Christinas always trying to come up with innovative new ideas to engage with students and promote health and wellness, he says. She's also very supportive of all her student staff and is flexible with our sometimes crazy schedules. Hands-on experience for students Every year Elgee works with 50-60 nursing students in the undergraduate and accelerated programs. As their preceptor, she helps them turn their academic knowledge into hands-on clinical experience. My goal is to ensure students get a holistic wellness experience, says Elgee. Students learn to practice nursing in a practical way and get real-world experience. As the nurse manager with Student Health & Wellness, her focus is on student wellness outreach and engagement for which she develops programming to educate students in sexual health, mental health, sleep, and alcohol and substance harm reduction. Our team works diligently to ensure we are meeting students needs, says Elgee. We try to improve students wellness at every level, based on their feedback, data, research, and years of experience. Elgees connections with the School of Nursing allow for many nursing students to be involved with program development and implementation, including the STI clinics held twice a week. Ainsley Lofstedt, the Student Health & Wellness Outreach intern, credits Elgees unwavering support for her smooth transition into a new role. Christina keeps my imposter syndrome in check, supports my decisions, and has taught me so much as a mentor, says Lofstedt. I consider myself very lucky to have a boss who makes time to check in with me even when I just want to chat about life." A focus on student wellness Elgee is also the nurse behind the Ask a Nurse! service run by Student Health & Wellness. The online program provides an outlet for students to ask uncomfortable or embarrassing health-related questions anonymously. Think of it like the question box from Sex-Ed in high school, she says. Elgee has a masters in Public Health and is passionate about creating health equity for every Dalhousie student. She sees student wellness as a perfect combination of education, harm reduction and prevention. I love working with students as they are such a diverse group with unique needsI have a lot to learn from them too, she says. I'm honoured to know that I'm having a positive impact on future health professionals. It feels wonderful! Qualcomm has signed non-binding MoUs to supply components to three Chinese smartphone manufacturers Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi. China accounts for over half of the US-based vendors total revenue. The three Chinese vendors with which it has signed the memoranda have indicated that across the next three years they will acquire components valued at no less than $12 billion. Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf noted that the component manufacturer had worked extensively with all three device manufacturers in the past, saying we are continuing our commitment to investing and helping advance Chinas mobile and semiconductor industries. The deal is part of a $250 billion suite of agreements between US and Chinese companies that have been announced during the US presidents first state visit to China. Qualcomm has dismissed a $130 billion takeover bid from Broadcom on the grounds that it dramatically undervalued the company. The deal would have been most expensive ever acquisition of a technology company, and one of the largest business deals ever. Broadcom has stated that it will press on in pursuing the deal despite Qualcomms initial rejection, and would go ahead with the buy whether or not Qualcomms pending purchase of NXP Semiconductors receives approval. Pradyuman's father revealed that a Haryana minister and Gurgaon Police Assistant Commissioner allegedly asked him to not go for CBI probe. By Munish Pandey: Pradyuman's father, Barun Chand Thakur has made a sensational claim that Haryana minister Rao Narbir Singh and an assistant commissioner of Gurgaon Police had allegedly asked him to not go for the CBI probe in the case. According to Barun, the Haryana Minister Rao Narbir Singh had come to his residence and said, "It will take years for CBI to reach any conclusion in this matter." advertisement When Barun held his ground, the minister allegedly said, "What if CBI reaches the same conclusion?" While speaking to India Today, Barun said, "I told the minister that let CBI investigate my son's murder. If CBI investigation reaches the same conclusion, I will believe that conductor is the murderer." Barun added that from the very first day, he was under the belief that there is more to what Gurgaon Police is claiming. But the minister was not the only one who tried persuading Barun to not demand for the CBI probe. An ACP who was part of the investigation too asked Barun not to demand for the CBI probe. Barun's lawyer Sushil Kumar Tekriwal said, "The ACP, Behram Singh, had come to meet Barun and told him that he he should not go in the media and demand the CBI probe. Barun came to me and when he told me about the matter, I went to meet the ACP. When the ACP realised I was a lawyer, he left immediately," Sushil said adding that the ACP asked him to give his request of CBI probe in writing and then only he will pay attention to his demands. PRADYUMAN MURDER Pradyuman, seven-year-old and Class 2 student of Ryan was found dead near a toilet of Ryan International School with his throat slit on September 8 morning. The Gurgaon Police had initially arrested the bus conductor of the school accusing him of killing Pradyuman. India Today has also accessed the copy of remand application which was filed by Gurgaon Police to seek police remand of Ashok in which they have mentioned, "accuse Ashok has confessed to the crime and he has also told us that he purchased the knife used in murder from a shop in Agra," whereas the weapon was recovered from the commode of the washroom in which Pradyuman was killed. Later, when Pradyuman's family approached the court, the case was transferred to CBI. CBI booked a 16-year-old student in the case and accused him of killing Pradyuman. CBI has virtually given clean chit to Ashok. It will be interesting to see if CBI will oppose the bail application of Ashok when it will come up for hearing on November 16. --- ENDS --- A video posted on YouTube shows a 10-year-old boy managing to unlock his moms iPhone X even though his mother had registered her own face It seems like the iPhone Xs Face ID feature may not be as secure as Apple would prefer. Soon after a Vietnamese security firm claimed to have fooled the feature using a 3D mask, a 10-year-old managed to do the same with this moms smartphone. It seems you just need to resemble the user in order to gain access to the smartphone, regardless of age or gender. Attaullah Malik posted a video on YouTube showing his 10-year-old son unlocking his Wifes iPhone X that has her face registered. A Wired report on the video states that the couple jokingly told their son that was no way he was going to gain access to the device, and were quite surprised when the device unlocked when the boy looked at it. Malik told the publication, It was funny at first, but it wasn't really funny afterward. My wife and I text all the time and there might be something we dont want him to see. Now my wife has to delete her texts when there's something she doesnt want Ammar to look at. Family resemblance seems to be a tricky thing for Face ID to get around. The feature also seems to have trouble with differentiating between twins (such as this one posted by Mashable). There are already many videos on YouTube, which suggest that the security feature cannot distinguish between identical twins. During his presentation, Apples Phil Schiller had stated that the chances of anyone else managing to unlock a users iPhone X was one in a million. A few days ago, Vietnamese security firm, Bkav claimed to have fooled Apples Face ID by using a 3D printer to create a mask. The skin of the mask was hand-made in order to trick Apples AI. Bkav also said that since Face ID can be fooled via a mask, it isnt an effective security feature. You can read your first impressions of the Apple iPhone X here. According to the leaked specifications, the phone is codenamed H3213 Avenger and will feature 16MP + 8MP cameras at the front. An anannounced Sony phone, codenamed H3213 Avenger has been spoted on a benchmark listing which suggests that that the company will finally join the dual-camera bandwagon. If the listing on GFXBench is correct, then we may see a new Sony smartphone offering a 16MP + 8MP camera at the front. Further, the front facing camera also seems to be able to capture videos in 4K. At the rear, the phone is tipped to feature a 21MP camera, which is also capable of shooting videos in 4K. Till now, Sony has dabbled into some selfie oriented smartphones such as the XA1 Ultra, which comes with a 16MP front facing camera, but the company still doesn't have a dual-camera phone in its portfolio. As per the listing phone is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 SoC, which we recently saw on the new Moto X4 smartphone. The Sony Avenger smartphone has 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. Further, the device is tipped to come with Android Oreo out of the box. There is a 6-inch display on the phone with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, which is listed to have 5-finger gesture support. Info about the battery size, display type, build quality and design are yet unknown. It should be noted that currently, the Sony Xperia XZ1 is the only smartphone aside from the two Google Pixel 2 devices to come pre-installed with Android Oreo. If the said specifications are correct, we might see this phone joining Sonys XA range of devices. The phone is likely to make its debut next year and there is no information on when the company plans to launch the device. Sony is also likely to replace its Omnibalance design it uses right now in the next year with something more in trend. Speculators believe that Sony will finally bring a bezel-less device in the market next year. Robert Noel, chief executive of real estate investment trust Land Securities , picked up 18,365 new ordinary shares in the London-based firm on Wednesday at a cost of 933p each. The transaction, worth a total of 171,345.45, came on the same day that Landsec chose Colette O'Shea to be the new managing director of its London portfolio, and appointed Scott Parsons, formerly of GE Banking, Brookfield Asset Management and Lloyds Banking Group, as the managing director of its retail portfolio. In another transaction, dated 14 November, Noel purchased a further 78,330 shares in Landsec for 920.65p each, or 721,145.15 in total. Also on Tuesday, Land Securities posted a 5.2% year-on-year improvement in revenue profit to 203m in its first half, while its valuation deficit was broadly stable, falling 0.1% to 19m. The FTSE 100 company posted a pre-tax loss of 33m over the six-month period to 30 September, narrowing from the 95m loss it reported at the same time a year earlier. Landsec's basic loss per share reduced to 4.3p from 12.1p, with adjusted diluted earnings per share improving 5.8% to 25.7p. Speaking following the release of the figures, Noel said, "Landsec reports a strong operational performance in the first half, with our highest levels of leasing activity since the global financial crisis, opportunistic buying and profitable disposals." However, the group's boss noted, "the headwinds od Brexit are beginning to show in the economy", but affirmed that "our balance sheet is healthy and we have the talent, firepower and experience to thrive". As of 1555 GMT, shares had lost just 0.05% to 920.50p. Top Director Buys Land Securities Group (LAND) Director name: Noel,Robert Amount purchased: 18,365 @ 933.00p Value: 171,345.45 Mccarthy & Stone (MCS) Director name: White,John Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 157.68p Value: 157,680.00 Augean (AUG) Director name: Grant,John A M Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 31.00p Value: 31,000.00 Nanoco Group (NANO) Director name: Pickett,Nigel Amount purchased: 166,666 @ 18.00p Value: 29,999.88 Nanoco Group (NANO) Director name: Richards,Christopher (Chris) Amount purchased: 166,666 @ 18.00p Value: 29,999.88 Nanoco Group (NANO) Director name: Blain,David Amount purchased: 138,888 @ 18.00p Value: 24,999.84 Nanoco Group (NANO) Director name: Wiggins,Keith Amount purchased: 55,555 @ 18.00p Value: 9,999.90 Mccarthy & Stone (MCS) Director name: Baker,Rowan Amount purchased: 6,552 @ 151.47p Value: 9,924.31 Aeorema Communications (AEO) Director name: Owen,Richard Amount purchased: 30,000 @ 30.00p Value: 9,000.00 Nanoco Group (NANO) Director name: Edelman,Michael Amount purchased: 42,735 @ 18.00p Value: 7,692.30 Personal Assets Trust (PNL) Director name: Sharp,Jean Amount purchased: 4 @ 40,870.00p Value: 1,634.80 Surgical Innovations Group (SUN) Director name: Power,Adam Amount purchased: 27,612 @ 3.60p Value: 994.03 Surgical Innovations Group (SUN) Director name: Power,Adam Amount purchased: 29,690 @ 3.35p Value: 994.02 Essentra (ESNT) Director name: Wunderlich,Ralf K Amount purchased: 5,000 @ 5.05p Value: 252.50 United Utilities Group (UU.) Director name: Gardiner,Simon Amount purchased: 22 @ 839.97p Value: 184.79 United Utilities Group (UU.) Director name: Mogford,Steven L Amount purchased: 22 @ 839.97p Value: 184.79 United Utilities Group (UU.) Director name: Fraser,Steven Amount purchased: 22 @ 839.97p Value: 184.79 United Utilities Group (UU.) Director name: Houlden,Russ Amount purchased: 20 @ 839.97p Value: 167.99 Bae Systems (BA.) Director name: Garwood,Alan Amount purchased: 28 @ 542.70p Value: 151.96 Bae Systems (BA.) Director name: Bramwell,Philip Amount purchased: 28 @ 542.70p Value: 151.96 National Grid (NG.) Director name: Pettigrew,John Amount purchased: 17 @ 887.78p Value: 150.92 National Grid (NG.) Director name: Bonfield,Andrew R J Amount purchased: 17 @ 887.78p Value: 150.92 Aa (AA.) Director name: Clarke,Martin C Amount purchased: 93 @ 161.33p Value: 150.04 Zotefoams (ZTF) Director name: Stirling,David Amount purchased: 39 @ 383.80p Value: 149.68 Zotefoams (ZTF) Director name: McGrath ,Gary Amount purchased: 39 @ 383.80p Value: 149.68 British Land Company (BLND) Director name: Bell,Lucinda Amount purchased: 25 @ 593.98p Value: 148.50 British Land Company (BLND) Director name: Grigg,Chris Amount purchased: 25 @ 593.98p Value: 148.50 British Land Company (BLND) Director name: Roberts,Timothy Andrew Amount purchased: 25 @ 593.98p Value: 148.50 British Land Company (BLND) Director name: Maudsley,Charles Amount purchased: 25 @ 593.98p Value: 148.50 Supergroup (SGP) Director name: Sutherland ,Euan Amount purchased: 8 @ 1,855.00p Value: 148.40 Supergroup (SGP) Director name: Cartwright,Andrea Amount purchased: 8 @ 1,855.00p Value: 148.40 Bae Systems (BA.) Director name: Woodburn,Charles Amount purchased: 27 @ 542.70p Value: 146.53 Imi (IMI) Director name: Shook ,Daniel Amount purchased: 10 @ 1,252.00p Value: 125.20 Imi (IMI) Director name: Selway,Mark W Amount purchased: 10 @ 1,252.00p Value: 125.20 Imi (IMI) Director name: Twite,Roy Amount purchased: 10 @ 1,252.00p Value: 125.20 National Grid (NG.) Director name: Westcott,Mike Amount purchased: 14 @ 887.78p Value: 124.29 Top Director Sells Intermediate Capital Group (ICP) Director name: Keller,Philip Amount sold: 130,000 @ 1,007.27p Value: 1,309,450.94 Land Securities Group (LAND) Director name: Noel,Robert Amount sold: 78,330 @ 920.65p Value: 721,145.15 European stocks are near their worst levels of the session, weighed down by strength in the euro and increased caution on the part of investors on the back of what some analysts described as "diminished expectations for US tax reforms". As of 1217 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was down by 0.89% or 3.42 points to 380.44, alongside a 1.07% or 140.62 point fall to 12,891.95 on the German Dax and a retreat of 1.28% or 288.38 points in the FTSE Mibtel to 22,007.48. Weakness in commodity price was also feeding through into weaker stocks, with both oil and copper futures trading lower and the Stoxx 600's sector gauge for Basic Resources erasing 2.54% to 424.81. Front month Brent crude oil futures were 1.17% lower to $61.49 a barrel after Bloomberg reported that Moscow thought the 30 November OPEC meeting was too soon to commit to continued output cuts. For its part, three-month LME copper was changing hands at $6,725 per tonne versus $6,867 at Tuesday's close. In parallel, euro-dollar was trading 0.43% higher at 1.1847 - possibly boosted a by a multi-billion dollar order for Airbus - even as the yield on the benchmark 10-year German government note was off by three basis points to 0.37%. "US markets also struggled to make gains closing lower, as investors took their cues from disappointing Chinese data which raised concerns of a disappointing end to the year for the worlds second biggest economy, as well as diminishing expectations of progress on US tax reform," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. "Equities are extending yesterday's losses in a general risk-off move. This follows more China-inspired selling of metals overnight to hurt the commodity space and an IEA report on oil adding fuel to the global oversupply story. Compounding this are nerves about tomorrow's US tax vote and dovish comments from the Fed's Evans which have sent USD lower, resulting in reciprocal yet unwelcome GBP and EUR strength this side of the pond," chipped in Mike van Dulken at Accendo Markets. On the economic data front, according to revised data from INSEE French consumer prices advanced by 0.2% month-on-month and 1.2% on the year in October, confirming an earlier estimate. In other news, the Eurozone's seasonally adjusted trade surplus increased from 21.0bn in August to 25.0bn for September, reaching its highest level on record, according to Eurostat. Later in the day, investors were awaiting the release of US CPI and retail sales data for the month of October. Meanwhile, in the corporate space, Airbus said it had clinched a 450 plane order with Indigo Partners valued at $49.5bn - the largest in the manufacturer's history - for 273 A320 neo jets and 157 of the bigger A321neo model. Elsewhere, German speciality chemicals-maker Lanxess posted adjusted net profits of 106m for the three months to September up from 77m a year earlier on 25% higher sales to 2.4bn. Beleaguered support services and construction company Carillion said on Wednesday that its 50:50 joint venture with the Zawawi family - Carillion Alawi - has been selected as the preferred bidder for the design and build of the New Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, the capital city of southern Oman's Dhofar province. The JV, for which the contract has an estimated value of 240m, has signed a letter of award with the Oman Ministry of Health. The contract will consist of a two stage design and build process. The initial design and mobilisation phase, which will be directly funded by the customer, will begin immediately, while the second phase would start next year once the design has been completed, the contract executed and funding finalised. A further letter of award is due to be signed shortly by Carillion Alawi, also with the Oman Ministry of Health, in respect of a hospital in Khasab. The contract is on similar terms to those for the Salalah award and, if it goes ahead, would have an estimated value of 120m to the JV. Both contracts are procured via lower risk procurement routes, for example through seeking support from UK Export Finance to secure project finance for customers. The group continues to look at ways in which it can de-risk its operations in the Middle East, working with its partners in the region to secure the future of this business. At 0920 GMT, the shares were down 1.2% to 42.75p. Experian said risks from regulation and information security could rise after a massive data breach at rival credit monitor Equifax. Reporting first-half results, the world's biggest credit checking company said: "The Equifax data brach has resulted in increased legislative and regulatory activity and may result in increased oversight of security matters. The notoriety of the breach has also increased in the near term the external risks associated with information security." In September Equifax revealed a security breach that allowed hackers to steal financial records for up to 146m customers. They stole social security numbers, which are widely used for identity verification in the US, prompting calls for tougher regulation of the credit monitoring sector. Experian, which makes more than half its revenue in North America, said it had "a spike in enrolments in the immediate aftermath of the Equifax data breach". Experian said it had a good start to the year as higher sales to businesses helped make up for falling revenue at its consumer division in the first half, where it was expected to benefit from the massive cyber breach at US rival Equifax. Operating profit for the six months to the end of September rose 6% to $518m (393m) as revenue rose 5% to $2.2bn. Organic business-to-business revenue, which excludes acquisitions, increased 7% as Experian added activities including consumer debt resolution and new data to verify income and assets. That growth helped offset shrinking income at Experian's consumer businesses. In the UK and Ireland, consumer revenue dropped 18% to $86m causing total revenue in that region to drop 8% to $378m. In North America headline consumer revenue rose 4% to $374m but on an organic basis revenue fell 4% at constant exchange rates. Experian said it had attracted almost 3m new members by offering free credit scores in the UK and Ireland in an effort to revive the consumer business. Revenue from matching customers with card and loan offers is growing but business from subscriptions for credit monitoring is shrinking. Brian Cassin, Experian's chief executive, said: "We have started the year well and are on course to deliver stronger organic revenue growth as we move through the year. "We are now consistently delivering strong growth in our business-to-business activities and anticipate a further moderation in the decline of Consumer Services as new product launches take root." Experian operates in North America, Latin America, UK and Ireland and Asia. Revenue rose in all regions except the UK and Ireland in the first half. HSBC has been forced into settling legal action with French prosecutors to the tune of 300m over alleged tax evasion from its clients in the country. The financial prosecutors office said HSBCs private banking operations in Switzerland allowed it to avoid paying taxes in France. Europes largest bank will now avoid going to trial in the country for tax fraud, according to a statement from prosecutors, who have dropped the case against HSBC without any admission of guilt. The case was opened in 2015, when investigators accused executives at the bank of several different methods of hiding assets to to avoid the taxman. "The investigation regarding HSBC Holdings has been dismissed," HSBC said in its statement. In addition the bank said it has 2publicly acknowledged historical control weakness at the Swiss Private Bank on a number of occasions and has taken firm steps to address them." The murder has been termed heinous, barbarous, diabolical, cold blooded and rarest in nature in the application filed by the father. The deceased's father Varun Thakur filed an application before the Juvenile Justice Board today demanding that the accused be tried as an adult. By India Today Web Desk: A day after the minor accused in the sensational Pradyuman Thakur murder case alleged that he was forced to admit the crime, father of the deceased, Varun Thakur, filed an application before the Juvenile Justice Board today demanding that the accused be tried as an adult. The murder has been termed heinous, barbarous, diabolical, cold blooded and rarest in nature in the application filed by the father. advertisement "The manner in which the throat has been slit of a 7-year-old boy namely Pradhyumn in the premises/bath room of the Ryan International School located at Bhondsi, Gurugam by the accused in the morning 8 am as per the prosecution/CBI itself indicates that the present crime is chilling, horrific, monstrous and serious in nature and the accused although being less than 18 years old but being more then 16 years old (a juvenile in conflict with the law) be tried as an adult as per the mandate, warrant and spirit of the amendment carried in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) ACT, 2015 with effect from 15.1. 2016," read the application. "Pradyuman was brutally murdered by the accused and the nature of the crime is very serious, hence, we have demanded that he should be tried as an adult, and not as a juvenile," Varun's lawyer Sushil Tekriwal told India Today. The accused, a Class 11 student, was arrested on November 8 after a breakthrough investigation by CBI. On Tuesday, he allegedly said that the CBI officials tortured him and forced him to admit that he killed the 7-year-old boy. Meanwhile, the accused's father too have come out stating that his son innocent and unnecessarily being framed in the case. "My son is being tortured, he was hung upside down and brutally thrashed. He is innocent," the father told media persons. Despite the shifting narratives, the family of the accused continues to maintain that he is innocent. The CBI officials on Monday night even interrogated four officials from Gurgaon Police who were a part of the special investigation team that probed the murder initially. The officials were quizzed over charges of tampering the evidence. CBI sleuths also said that they will interrogate the Ryan International School owners and management. -With inputs from Munish Pandey ALSO WATCH | Pradyuman Thakur murder: CCTV footage shows victim walking into washroom --- ENDS --- By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) The Rafale fighter aircraft deal was in Indias interest, French diplomatic sources asserted today, a day after the Congress alleged that the BJP government was buying 36 aircraft from the French firm at a highly inflated price. The sources said the military jet was selected for its "outstanding performance" and "competitive price", while refusing to directly counter the Congress allegation, terming it a "domestic political issue". advertisement "Rafale has been selected for its outstanding performance and competitive price, following a transparent procedure. The offset clause is going to help develop the defence industry in India," the sources said, adding that there was a need to "check the facts" before making claims on the contrary. Under the agreement, the French side has made a 30-per cent offset commitment for military aerospace research and development programmes and the rest 20 per cent for manufacturing the components of the Rafale aircraft here. Asked whether France was keen on augmenting the deal, the sources maintained that it was up to India, but added that the focus currently was on delivering the 36 aircraft on time. "If there are further needs, we will be more than happy to propose our cooperation. But that is not for us to decide and we are not focusing on it currently," they said. The Congress had yesterday alleged that the Rafale deal amounted to compromising on national interest and security and promoted "crony capitalism", while causing a loss to the public exchequer. The opposition party had also alleged that the aircraft were being purchased at much higher rates than what was decided after the completion of the tender process under the previous UPA government. PTI SBR RC --- ENDS --- PayPal on Friday announced the immediate availability of its peer-to-peer payment service on Facebook Messenger, making it easy to exchange money between friends and family. PayPal also introduced its first-ever customer service bot, which gives Messenger customers payment and account support right in the app. An agreement struck last year with Facebook allowed 2.5 million PayPal customers in the U.S. to connect their accounts with Messenger and use PayPal to shop on Messenger, as well as to communicate with other PayPal users, noted COO Bill Ready. PayPal is the leader in P2P payments, he pointed out, with US$24 billion in volume during the third-quarter of 2017, up 47 percent year-over-year. Weve seen interest from the 2.5 million people who have connected their PayPal accounts to Facebook Messenger that they would like to use this as a way to communicate with us, said PayPal spokesperson Juliet Niczewicz. Further, the new PayPal bot for Messenger will enable people to have meaningful customer service interactions, she told the E-Commerce Times, such as resetting passwords, handling account inquiries, and helping with refunds or payment issues so they can handle their business in the context they are in. Click Image to Enlarge PayPal previously entered deals with Apples Siri to do transactions with voice commands, Niczewicz noted. It also partnered with Microsoft to allow money to be sent using Skypes chat function. PayPal earlier this year launched a bot on Slack that allows users to send payments while inside a Slack conversation, she added. Payments can be made in Messenger by pressing the blue plus icon when composing a message and then tapping the green payments button. To use the bot, customers can look for PayPal in the search field, type a message to PayPal, and the bot will appear inside the Messenger app. Customers needing further help can choose to connect to live PayPal customer service. Expanding Messenger Facebook originally enabled the sending of payments through Messenger more than two years ago, according to spokesperson Jennifer Hakes. That functionality required customers to enter a Visa or Mastercard debit number issued by a U.S. bank into Messenger, and it offered the option of adding a PIN for greater security. Facebook has adopted a strategy of creating a broad consumer technology platform and working to keep users within it by offering services through Messenger, observed Jack Kent, director for operators and mobile media at IHS Markit. Making Messenger more of a platform for commerce and transactions also serves Facebooks wider ambitions to drive platform monetization, he told the E-Commerce Times. Bringing payments and advertising closer together can help drive up the value of ads and promotions inside the app. Chatbots help customers deal with straightforward transactions like reorders, sending gift cards or paying bills, said Cindy Zhou, principal analyst at Constellation Research. Promoting commerce inside a messaging app has been a standard tool in Asia for years for example, with WeChat in China, she told the E-Commerce Times. It has started to take hold in the U.S., she noted, with rival social media platforms embracing in-app commerce. Pinterest has introduced buyable pins, for example, and users can shop on Instagram. While there appears to be a heightened in interest in automating these transactions, customers may rebel against having to interact with intelligent bots instead of live customer service agents, suggested Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR Research. Have customers embraced outsourced, scripted customer service reps who know nothing about the country or the products theyre supporting? No they have not, she told the E-Commerce Times. The best customer service often results form shaming companies over social media, Rosenblum said, based on her experience. Otherwise I end up with one of those scripted reps, she said, and it drives me nuts. African American communities face a disproportionate risk of health issues caused by gas and oil pollution, according to a report issued Tuesday by two advocacy groups. The report from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Clean Air Task Force noted the importance of Obama-era U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that finalized standard for methane and ozone smog-forming volatile organic compound (VOCs). The report states that if the Trump administrations dismantling of environmental regulations continues, the situation for African Americans will worsen. The study found oil and natural gas facilities were built or currently exist within a half-mile of more than one million African Americans, exposing these communities to higher risks of cancer due to toxic emissions. African-Americans are exposed to 38 percent more polluted air than Caucasian Americans, and they are 75 percent more likely to live in fence-line communities than the average American, the report said, referring to neighborhoods near to gas and oil facilities. Counties located in the Gulf Coast Basin are home to the most counties with oil refineries and higher percentages of African Americans. Michigan, Louisiana and Tennessee, the report found, have the highest percentage of African American residents living in oil refinery counties. Texas and Louisiana, both in the Gulf Coast Basin, were home to the largest African American individuals at risk for cancer, with nearly 900,000 living in areas above the EPAs level of concern. The effects of oil and gas pollution are disproportionately afflicting African Americans, particularly cancer and respiratory issues, and the trend is only increasing, said Dr. Doris Browne, the National Medical Association President. The report also found that oil and natural gas industries violate the EPAs air quality standards from natural gas emissions-related ozone smog in numerous African communities, causing more than 130,000 asthma attacks among school children. This results in more than 100,000 missed school days each year. Defending the environmental protections finalized during the Obama administration and advocating for additional protections against pollution from the oil and gas industry will help improve the health of many African American communities, the study noted. But the Trump administration has already begun to dismantle Obama-era EPA steps taken in 2016 that aimed to clean up toxic air pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide. It is also taking aim at 2016 EPA actions that address the 1.2 million existing sources of methane pollution and other airborne pollution. The White House claims these regulations are unnecessary industry burdens. The Trump administrations moves are being challenged in courts around the country. What this administration is discovering as it attempts to undo vital health and environmental protections is that these sensible standards cannot simply be wished away, only to the benefit of the oil and gas industry, said Sarah Uhl, program director of short-lived climate pollutants for Clean Air Task Force. Not only do we have the law on our side, we also have the medical and scientific communities who will help ensure that our air, and our health, particularly in fence-line communities, are protected to the full extent of the law. Just this Wednesday morning, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello sent out a tweet boasting about the island finally reaching a 50 percent power threshold after Hurricane Maria wiped out the electric grid 56 days ago. Then boom (a witness reported) the lights went out, tweeted CBS News reporter David Begnaud, who has been extensively reporting on the U.S. territorys recovery efforts. Timing could not be worse. The outage was due to a failure of the Cambalache Manatee 230KV line, according to Puerto Ricos electric power authority (PREPA), the same major transmission line that failed last week and left the grid working at only 18 percent. Puerto Ricos power generation has dipped back to 48 percent and is another reminder of the islands painstaking efforts to rebuild after the Category 4 hurricane struck on Sept. 20. Now, Gov. Rossello is seeking to transform Puerto Ricos fragile power system with help from good ol renewable energy. The governor told a Senate panel on Tuesday that the territory should boost its use of wind and solar electricity to provide for as much as 25 percent of the islands electricity, Bloomberg reported. We certainly see a collaboration with the private sector, Rossello said. Business leaders and clean energy advocates such as Virgin Group CEO Richard Branson have said that renewables could be a solution to regions wrecked by damaging hurricanes. Branson, who rode out Hurricane Irma on his private island in the Caribbean, is working with global leaders including the International Monetary Fund to help rebuild the Caribbean islands, according to the report. Last month, Tesla was praised for quietly sending hundreds of its solar-paired battery packs to help Puerto Rico deal with widespread power loss. The company is working on many solar + storage projects on the island. As EcoWatch reported, one of Teslas projects was restoring electricity to a childrens hospital with its solar panels and Powerpack commercial energy storage batteries. The beauty of such a set-up is that the hospital can generate power when the sun is shining and reserve it for later use when the sun is not out or, say, to help recover from a destructive natural disaster like a hurricane. It was because of solar power that a 40-acre plant farm in Barranquitas in central Puerto Rico was able to slowly rebuild in Marias wake. Rebuilding the island will not be cheap. Case in point: Rossello has asked Congress for a whopping $94.4 billion to help Puerto Rico build back better after Maria. Timing could not be worse, here. Governor had just tweeted that the goal of 50% was achieved, then boom (a witness reported) the lights went out in Puerto Rico. https://t.co/0QC8PDyWUj David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) November 15, 2017 Puerto Rico, which has suffered from the largest and longest blackout in American history, has long grappled with electricity problems. As Peter Fox-Penne wrote for the Conversation, Almost half its generation was from old, very expensive oil-fired plants, resulting in prices about 22 cents per kilowatt hour, among the highest in the U.S. The island has several solar photovoltaic farms but gets about 46 percent of its power from oil and only about 3 percent from solar. In recent weeks, PREPA has been mired in controversy over its highly criticized $300 million no-bid contract with Whitefish Energy, a tiny Montana energy firm tasked to restore the islands power. That contract has since been canceled and is under FBI investigation. By Anna Scott Want to save the planet? Are you, like me, a young professional struggling to reduce your carbon footprint? Then join me in taking the train to your next professional conference. Most of my low-carbon lifestyle is admittedly enforced on me by my student budget. I have no kids, bicycle to work and share a house with roommates. What dominates my carbon footprint is the flights I takeIll be hitting frequent flyer status this year thanks to traveling for conferences, talks and workshops (not to mention those flights to see my family during the holidayseven being unmarried doesnt get me out of visiting in-laws overseas). This is a bittersweet moment for a climate scientistmy professional success gives me an opportunity to impact the world with my science, but is hurting the planet and leaving future generations with a mess that will outlive me. Theres no silver bullet to fixing climate change, but I think scientists and science enthusiasts can start with ourselves. Every year, together with 25,000 of my closest climate and Earth science buddies, I attend the American Geophysical Union meeting. (You may have heard about it last year on NPR). Prof. Lawrence Plug calculated that the 2003 meeting generated more than 12,000 tons of CO2. Since then, the meeting has more than doubled in size, suggesting that the carbon footprint is upwards of 25,000 tons of CO2 from flights alone. Prominent scientists like Katherine Hayhoe have suggested that we shift to teleconferencing instead. I think this is great for small meetings of folks who already know each other, or for prominent scientists like Dr. Hayhoe, who have an established publication record and name recognition. For the little folks like myself though, meetings offer tremendous opportunities to connect with colleagues at other institutions, meet potential collaborators, and scout new job opportunities. The serendipitous interaction that meetings allow is similar to the design principles that tech firms like Google enact when designing their public spaces. This fall alone, Ive filled a shoebox with business cards from colleagues working on similar problems, potential collaborators working in similar fields, and, most lucratively, established scientists who have news of post-doctoral fellowships and job opportunities. This last point may be especially critical for minority scientists, who may lack the social networks needed to get jobs. In short, Im not switching to virtual anytime soon, mostly because I cant see it paying off (yetKatherine Hayhoe et al, if youre reading this, hire me!). But I still need to reduce my carbon footprint. My solution? Replace one conference travel flight with a train ride. Repeat every year. Last year, I took Amtraks California Zephyr from San Francisco to Chicago back from AGUs fall meeting and crossed the Rockies next to a geophysicist explaining plate tectonics and identifying rocks. The year before, I returned from New Orleans and wrote my thesis proposal while rolling through bayous, swamps and pine forests of the Southeast. (Dont think you have time for this? I spent the trip writing a paper, now published in PLOS-ONE. Amtrak seats all come with electrical outlets and seatback trays that function terrificly as desks). Is this a practical solution for everybody? Nope, and I wont pretend that it is. Your time might be better spent with your kids, or volunteering in your community, or maybe you want to drive instead- I dont know your life. Train infrastructure is lacking in the U.S., and delays are common as Amtrak doesnt own the tracks and must give way to commercial freight. But I maintain my hope that increased demand for train travel can spur future investment, sending a market signal that young people want to travel this way. This year, Ill be taking the train to AGUs fall meeting in New Orleans from Washington DC. I estimate that Ill be saving about one ton of CO2 equivalent (calculation included radiative forcing). If youre headed that way, I invite you to join me, tell your friends or even just reflect on the possibility that low carbon alternatives to flying exist. We cant fix everything. But if we all do our little part, we can accomplish something. And something is always better than nothing. Anna Scott is a PhD student in the Earth and Planetary Science Department at the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins. The Trump administration filed a motion before a federal judge requesting two more years to complete an assessment on the risks of three common pesticides on endangered species. The pesticides in questionchlorpyrifos, malathion and diazinonare three organophosphate insecticides known to harm the vast majority of the nearly 1,800 animals and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act, according to an extensive federal study. Notably, the Associated Press reported, the administrations motion comes after chlorpyrifos-maker Dow Chemical Co. and two other organophosphate manufacturers asked the government to ignore the findings of the aforementioned study. Its appallingly clear that the pesticide industry is now essentially running Trumps EPA, said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. This disturbing request shows that [EPA administrator Scott] Pruitt and Trump are more interested in protecting the profits of their corporate buddies than the hundreds of endangered species threatened by these deadly pesticides. If the request is granted, it would modify a 2014 legal agreement secured by the Center for Biological Diversity that required the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the pesticides harms by the end of 2017. According to a press release from the Center for Biological Diversity: Under the Endangered Species Act, the EPA must consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service to ensure its actions do not jeopardize endangered species or harm their habitats. Despite this clear mandate, the EPA has essentially ignored the plight of endangered species injured and killed by pesticides. Only after the Centers 2014 legal victory did the agency agree to comply with this long-standing requirement. Unless the court approves the new delay request, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries services will use those assessments to develop common-sense measures to reduce the pesticides harm to endangered speciesfor example by limiting spraying in their habitatby the end of the year. The Associated Press pointed out that this move is the latest example of the Trump administration seeking to block or delay environmental rules at the behest of the industry. Dow contributed $1 million to Trumps inaugural committee. President Trump also named Dow CEO Andrew Liveris head of his American Manufacturing Council and received the presidents ceremonial pen used to sign the executive order aimed at eliminating regulations that he claims are damaging to the U.S. economy. [facebook https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/10158710783090301/ expand=1] In March, according to records obtained by the Associated Press, Pruitt met with Liveris for about 30 minutes at a Houston hotel. Later that month, Pruitt announced that he would no longer pursue a ban on chlorpyrifos from being used on food, ignoring his agencys own review that even small amounts of the pesticide could impact fetus and infant brain development. When Abbe Larges daughter was a toddler, she was diagnosed with a peanut allergy so severe that the skin on her cheek reacted to a kiss from her father hours after hed eaten peanuts. With two daughters with multiple food allergies, Large worked with an allergy consultant to figure out how to eat, how to store food, and how to control her childrens exposure to the allergens that could send them into anaphylaxis. Large was anxious when it was time to send them to their Connecticut elementary school. Peanut protein is difficult to clean from skin and surfaces, which would leave her younger daughter, now 10, vulnerable to a reaction even if peanut-eating classmates didnt have the nuts at school. I would put her to bed at night and really fear for her life, Large said. School-based health providers and education leaders say theyve seen a major uptick in allergies to peanuts and other foods, sometimes creating logistical challenges for teachers, food service workers, and school nurses. Ive been a school nurse for 24 years, and the number of students presenting with risk of anaphylaxis related to food has grown exponentially, said Laurie Combe, the president-elect of the National Association of School Nurses. When I started, I had one student with an EpiPen, and now I will go into schools and they will have 20 to 30. And new research backs up the assertion that the number of children with food allergies is growing. Peanut allergies in children have increased 21 percent since 2010, and nearly 2.5 percent of U.S. children may have an allergy to peanuts, according to preliminary research presented by Ruchi Gupta, a professor of pediatric medicine at Northwestern University. Gupta presented her findings, derived from a survey of 58,000 U.S. households, at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunologys annual scientific meeting in Boston last month. Her findings also showed rising rates of child allergies to tree nuts, shellfish, fin fish, and sesame during the same time period. Scientists have suggested that a lack of early exposure to allergens may have contributed to an increase in children with allergies. Growing rates of food allergies should concern schools, advocates say, because many children who have not been diagnosed with an allergy have their first allergic reactions in a school setting. Between 20 and 25 percent of epinephrine injections administered to counter severe allergic reactions at school are given to students whove not yet been diagnosed with an allergy, according to Food Allergy Research & Education, an advocacy group for people with allergies. FARE advocates for policies that allow schools to carry epinephrine injectors that arent prescribed for use by a specific student so that they can react quickly in the event of an allergic reaction. States have responded to growing allergy concerns in recent years. Every state but Hawaii has a policy that allows or requires schools to stock epinephrine, according to a FARE legislation tracker. And most states require training for teachers and administrators in how to use the devices. Those state policies come after a 2013 federal law that prioritizes some federal grants to states that stock epinephrine injectors in schools. Mylan, a leading distributor of epinephrine injectors, pushed for the federal law. Some policymakers have said requiring schools to stock the injectors, rather than merely allowing them to do so, creates a financial burden because of the cost of training staff and maintaining drug supplies. Groups like the National Association of School Nurses have also pressed for a nurse in every school, noting that relatively common diagnoses like allergies can quickly become serious health risks. Parents like Large say that, as more schools adopt clear policies related to things like food in the classroom and allowing for broader use of epinephrine injectors, they are more comfortable sending their children to school. Schools Need Broad Policies FARE pushes for parents of children with allergies to secure 504 plans that outline how their schools will limit exposure to allergens and respond if they have reactions, said Jennifer Jobrack, the organizations national advocacy director. But schools shouldnt address allergies as merely issues for individual students, Jobrack said. Rather, they should implement broader policies that reduce allergen exposure for all students, even those who have not yet been diagnosed. Food-free classrooms, where teachers avoid using things like M&M candies for counting exercises and egg cartons for craft products would be one example, Jobrack said. Schools should also limit use of products like peanut butter in cafeterias, provide special tables for highly allergic students in the lunchroom, and require classroom snacks that include listed ingredients so parents can screen for allergens, she said. Such policies, applied across an entire school, can help reduce the stigma for individual children with severe allergies. You never want to single out a child and make other children feel that because of Johnnys allergy, we cant have M&Ms in our classroom, Jobrack said. Only 16 states require their schools to have food-allergy policies. But many schools in states without such mandates have adopted them on their own, using guidelines like those from the National Association of School Nurses and the National School Boards Association. Parent Anxiety Such policies can help schools reassure parents that their child will be safe, said Combe, of the nurses association. When a parent is bringing a child with food allergy to school for the first time, they are terrified, she said. Theyve lived in this protective environment of their home, and now theyre sending them off to school to people they dont know. Combe told the story of an elementary student whose mother wanted her to carry an epinephrine injector with her everywhere. While most allergy-affected children stored their injectors in the nurses office, administrators allowed the girl to carry hers in a fairy purse on her shoulder until her mother grew more confident in the schools preparedness. You have to meet parents where their level of anxiety is, and then you can build trust, Combe said. Large, the Connecticut mother, channeled her concern into a mission to boost the level of allergy education in her childrens schools. She went school-by-school to meet with principals, parent-teacher association members, and parents of affected children to put policies in place related to food and allergen exposure. She convinced schools to switch from peanut butter to sunflower butter in cafeteria foods, and she developed informational features about allergies that could be included in parent newsletters. At the end of the day, nobody wants to put a child in harms way, Large said. Nobody does it intentionally. Its all about education. According to the original plan, Congress' organisational elections would have taken place between September 16 and October 15. Rahul Gandhi's elevation is most likely to take place after the results for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are announced. (Photo: Twitter | @Supriya23bh) By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: After Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned to India from his visit to the US in September, party's organisational elections to elevate him to the president's post picked up pace. He was tipped to replace his mother Sonia Gandhi as the Congress president in the last month of October. However, all the hype ebbed and flurry of activities around the Congress organisational elections seem to have decelerated with the Election Commission announcing the poll schedule for Himachal Pradesh on October 12. advertisement Sonia Gandhi, who had taken over as party president from Sitaram Kesri March 14, 1998, holds the record of being on the post for the longest period of time (19 years) in the party's 131-year-old history. Elections at the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) level were held in October. Barring a few, most of the states have completed the process and authorised Sonia and Rahul to nominate respective PCC presidents. According to the original plan, Congress' organisational elections would have taken place between September 16 and October 15. The process of filing of nomination papers for the Congress president's post should have started from October 10. But the election process, which was already running a few days behind schedule, seems to have come to a grinding halt. No dates have been announced for the meeting of party's top decision-making body, Congress Working Committee (CWC) either. In this scenario, there are two possible dates for Rahul Gandhi's anointment - November 19 or after December 18. WHY NOT ON NOVEMBER 19 November 19 would have been a suitable date Rahul Gandhi's anointment as the Congress president. The nation would celebrate his grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi's birth centenary on that date. However, the day may not suit the party due to other political considerations. Voting for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly election would take place on December 9 - exactly 20 days after November 19. The second phase would be held on December 14. Rahul would be campaigning as the Congress president if his anointment takes place this month. While the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh is facing a strong anti-incumbency sentiment, Gujarat too does not seem to be within the party's easy reach even though Rahul has been campaigning extensively in the western state. With doubts over Congress' victory in both the states, the party cannot take the risk of declaring Rahul Gandhi before results are announced on December 18. In case the Congress loses in both, particularly Gujarat, Rahul will be attacked by the rivals for having failed to steer the party to victory in the very first elections after taking over the president of India's grand old party. advertisement In this scenario, Rahul Gandhi's elevation is most likely to take place after the results for Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections are announced. It may take place in the midst of the forthcoming winter session of Parliament, which is likely to commence in the first week of December, or any time after the session ends around Christmas. --- ENDS --- A particular mutation identified among Old Order Amish in Indiana is associated with a longer life span, improved metabolism and a lower occurrence of diabetes, according to a new study. The findings demonstrate the utility of studying mutations in populations with geographic and genetic isolation, and shed light on a novel therapeutic target for aging. Aging remains one of the most challenging biologic processes for scientists to unravel, due in part to the many interrelated molecular and cellular changes it brings. One indicator of aging is the shortening of telomeres, caps at the end of strands of DNA that protect a person's chromosomes. Progressive shortening of telomeres leads to senescence, or biological aging. Senescent cells and tissues exhibit a distinctive pattern of protein expression, including increased production of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). To further examine the role of PAI-1 in human longevity, Sadiya Khan and colleagues studied 177 members of the Berne Amish community. Forty-three of these men and women carried a nonfunctional copy of the gene SERPINE1, which encodes PAI-1. Carriers of this SERPINE1 mutation lived an average of 10 years longer than other individuals in the community. What's more, they had a 10% longer average white blood cell telomere length, after adjusting for age, sex, and familial relatedness compared with noncarriers. The authors say future studies will be needed to investigate the contribution of PAI-1 to individual telomere shortening over time, the development of incident diabetes, and other age-related diseases, and perhaps ultimately differences in health and lifespan in humans. ### MINNEAPOLIS - Using virtual reality therapy to improve arm and hand movement after a stroke is equally as effective as regular therapy, according to a study published in the November 15, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. "Virtual reality training may be a motivating alternative for people to use as a supplement to their standard therapy after a stroke," said study author Iris Brunner, PhD, of Aarhus University, Hammel Neurocenter in Denmark. "Future studies could also look at whether people could use virtual reality therapy remotely from their homes, which could lessen the burden and cost of traveling to a medical center for standard therapy." The study involved 120 people with an average age of 62 who had suffered a stroke on average about a month before the study started. All of the participants had mild to severe muscle weakness or impairment in their wrists, hands or upper arms. The participants had four to five hour-long training sessions per week for four weeks. The participants' arm and hand functioning was tested at the beginning of the study, after the training ended and again three months after the start of the study. Half of the participants had standard physical and occupational therapy. The other half had virtual reality training that was designed for rehabilitation and could be adapted to the person's abilities. The participants used a screen and gloves with sensors to play several games that incorporated arm, hand and finger movements. "Both groups had substantial improvement in their functioning, but there was no difference between the two groups in the results," Brunner said. "These results suggest that either type of training could be used, depending on what the patient prefers." Brunner noted that the virtual reality system was not an immersive experience. "We can only speculate whether using virtual reality goggles or other techniques to create a more immersive experience would increase the effect of the training," she said. ### The study was supported by the Norwegian Research Council, Regional Hospital Central Jutland Research Fund, Western Norway Regional Health Authority, Norwegian Fund for Post-graduate Training in Physiotherapy and Danish Physiotherapists' Research Fund. To learn more about stroke, visit http://www.aan.com/patients. The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with 32,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and YouTube. Someday, left-over toner in discarded printer cartridges could have a second life as bridge or building components instead of as trash, wasting away in landfills and potentially harming the environment. One group reports in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering that they have devised a method to recycle the residual powder in "empty" cartridges into iron using temperatures that are compatible with existing industrial processes. Electronic waste is a broad category that encompasses everything from computers and televisions to ink cartridges and refrigerators. According to the European Toner and Inkjet Remanufacturers Association, 500 million cartridges out of the estimated 1.1 billion sold each year end up in landfills around the world. These "empty" cartridges can contain up to 8 percent of unused residual powder by weight and could leach compounds into the soil and underground water sources. In an attempt to reuse this electronic waste, researchers have transformed this substance into oils, gases and even an ingredient in asphalt. Now, Vaibhav Gaikwad and colleagues wanted to develop a brand-new way to re-use residual toner. The researchers put toner powder in a furnace, heating it to 1,550 C. This process converted the inherent iron oxide to a product that was 98 percent pure iron using the polymer resins within the toner powder as a source of carbon. The researchers say that this method would be ideal for industrial applications because iron and steel are typically made at this temperature. In addition, heating the powder at such a high temperature prevents toxic side products from forming, providing an environmentally friendly way to recycle residual toner. ### The authors acknowledge funding from the Australian Research Council's Industrial Transformation Research Hub. Vaibhav Gaikwad acknowledges the funding for the New Generation Network fellowship from the University of New South Wales Sydney and the Australia India Institute. The abstract that accompanies this study is available here. The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Follow us on Twitter | Facebook As any wine enthusiast knows, the "legs" that run down a glass after a gentle swirl of vino can yield clues about alcohol content. Interestingly, the physical phenomenon that helps create these legs can be harnessed to propel tiny motors to carry out tasks on the surface of water. Scientists demonstrate the motors in a report in ACS' journal Langmuir. Miniature robots in water have been shown to clean up pollutants and perform other useful tasks. But fueling them has been a challenge. One promising method to propel little machines through water involves using chemical reactions to produce bubbles, which then get ejected and push the robots around. However, this approach requires the use of expensive catalysts. To eliminate the catalysts but still propel the machines on water, Lidong Zhang and colleagues turned to the Marangoni effect in which a fluid moves due to changes in surface tension. To build their minimotors, the researchers created concentrated droplets of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and dimethyl formamide (DMF) that, due to the Marangoni effect, rotate rapidly on water. Testing showed that the droplets could propel paper goldfish hundreds of centimeters without emitting any pollutants into the air. Also, with the addition of an electromagnetic generator, the kinetic energy could be converted to electrical energy, a feature that could broaden the propeller's applicability. To see these minimotors in action, check out the related Headline Science video here. ### The authors acknowledge funding from East China Normal University, the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai. The abstract that accompanies this study is available here. The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a not-for-profit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. ACS does not conduct research, but publishes and publicizes peer-reviewed scientific studies. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Follow us on Twitter | Facebook Smoking parents misperceive where and when their kids are exposed to cigarette smoke, Tel Aviv University researchers say Four out of 10 children in the US are exposed to secondhand smoke, according to the American Heart Association. A new Tel Aviv University study suggests that parents who smoke mistakenly rely on their own physical senses to gauge the presence of tobacco smoke in the air. "This reliance on their own physical sensory perceptions leads to misconceptions of when and where children are exposed to tobacco smoke," says Dr. Laura Rosen of TAU's School of Public Health and Sackler Faculty of Medicine, who led the research for the study, recently published in Nicotine and Tobacco Research. "No one has previously put their finger on this exposure perception problem," Dr. Rosen says. "This is important for the ongoing debate about restrictions on smoking in public places, since people may be exposed without being aware of it." Misunderstandings and misconceptions The research team conducted in-depth interviews with 65 parents of young children from smoking households across Israel. They found many false assumptions and a lack of awareness of where and when the children were exposed to cigarette smoke. "Many parents believe they are taking adequate measures to protect their children from the damage of cigarette smoke. But we found that they are not even aware of some of the exposure, and therefore do not take sufficient measures to protect their children," Dr. Rosen continues. The researchers then compared the participating parents' misconceptions of secondhand smoke exposure with scientific findings from recent studies. They found that if the parents believed that if they did not see or smell the smoke, their children were not exposed. "But previous studies have shown that 85% of smoke is invisible, and many components of cigarette smoke are odorless," says Dr. Rosen. "What's more, you can't rely on a smoker's sense of smell, which may have been damaged by smoking." Others reported believing that if they smoked beside an open window, on the balcony or in a designated area -- or ventilated the room after smoking -- their children would not be exposed to smoke. "But urine tests of children whose parents smoke near open windows indicate double the normal level of cotinine, a product of nicotine," says Dr. Rosen. Some parents also noted that they believed smoking in the car with the windows open would not harm their children. "The fact is that the level of harmful particles inside a smoker's car may be even higher than in bars where customers smoke freely," says Dr. Rosen. "Research has shown that children exposed to a single cigarette smoked in a car have increased biomarkers 24 hours following the exposure. Also, prolonged exposure at low levels may accumulate over time and cause permanent damage to children's developing lungs and cardiovascular systems. "To protect children from secondhand smoke, parents must be convinced that exposure occurs even when they themselves do not see or smell the smoke. Parents' awareness of smoke exposure is essential to protecting children from secondhand smoke," Dr. Rosen concludes. ### The Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute and Tel Aviv University contributed funding to the study. American Friends of Tel Aviv University (AFTAU) supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. For three years in a row, TAU ranked 9th in the world, and first in Israel, for alumni going on to become successful entrepreneurs backed by significant venture capital, a ranking that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,400 patents have been filed out of the University, making TAU 29th in the world for patents among academic institutions. "During his first 100 days as the 45th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump launched Twitter attacks against 'Fake Tears Chuck Schumer,' members of the Republican Freedom Caucus, and a district court judge; accused his predecessor of 'wiretapping' his phone, though there was no evidence for the claim; and baffled observers by appearing to lament a nonexistent terrorist attack in Sweden." Opening with that statement, a new analysis published in the journal Political Science Quarterly argues that Trump has forged a unique rhetorical signature that disrupts the norms of politics and discourse. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, and APPC postdoctoral fellow Doron Taussig write that while Trump's signature rhetoric helped to secure his electoral victory, as president that same rhetoric has prompted resistance even from his own party and hindered his early attempts to govern. "Here we argue not simply that Trump's norm-shattering rhetoric deviates from that of his predecessors but also that his discursive patterns constitute a double-edged rhetorical identity or signature," the authors write. "This rhetorical signature both certified Trump's authenticity as a change candidate to a constituency eager for the disruption of politics as usual and now complicates his ability to govern in a political system still accustomed to those conventions." Trump's rhetorical signature Jamieson and Taussig conclude that Trump "eschews scripted language, depicts himself as the heroic savior of a country in free-fall, dismisses the authority of key custodians of knowledge when it is convenient to do so, refuses to honor traditional standards of evidence and argument, breaches long-lived canons of civility, attacks the legitimacy of a number of democratic institutions, and rejects the conceit of American exceptionalism. Just as a golden, block-lettered 'Trump' expressed his brand in business, this spontaneous, Manichean, evidence-flouting, accountability-dodging, institution-disdaining rhetoric serves as his signature in politics." "Disruption, Demonization, Deliverance, and Norm Destruction: The Rhetorical Signature of Donald J. Trump" cites examples from Trump's language as a candidate and through his first 100 days in office to discuss his signature traits. These show how the qualities that helped him win election created challenges for him as president. They cite, among others, these traits and challenges: * Spontaneous and unpredictable: By communicating in a seemingly spontaneous, improvisational fashion and in unusual ways and at unusual hours, Trump increases his control of the media agenda, circumvents media gatekeepers, and distinguishes his rhetoric from the scripted, poll-driven messaging of his campaign rivals and presidential predecessors. But the same quality has become a liability in governing, the authors find. A March 2017 Fox News poll found that only 35 percent of Trump voters approved of his Twitter habits, and a tweet in which Trump accused Obama of wiretapping his phone during the election process "propelled his presidency into an ongoing congressional investigation." * Accountability dodging: More so than his predecessors, Trump rejects conventional standards of accountability, denying discernible reality, changing and reversing past positions casually, and, when caught, distracting. As a sitting president, however, "accountability structures" make it more difficult to avoid accountability, the article says. After Trump accused Obama of wiretapping his phones, FBI director James Comey stated unequivocally before the House Intelligence Committee that "neither the FBI nor the Justice Department had any evidence 'that supports those tweets.' " Political norms after Trump While in the past "some presidents have been mentally fragile," real-time evidence of that usually would have been available only to an inner circle, not the public. "Not so in the Twitter age with a president who appears to post before thinking and seems burdened with few undisclosed thoughts," the authors observe. Based on Trump's statements, his critics have expressed concern about his "mental acuity," while the reliably conservative Wall Street Journal's editorial page has worried about his "seemingly endless stream of exaggerations, evidence-free accusations, implausible denials and other falsehoods..." Those concerns have led to speculation about use of the 25th Amendment, under which the vice president and the cabinet can remove the president if they find him "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." While the likelihood that amendment would be invoked is "vanishingly small," the authors write, "the mere fact that Trump's public statements have fueled speculation about it is evidence that he has engaged in rhetoric that disrupted political and discourse norms." The "dual realities" of Trump's electoral success and early struggles governing, the authors say, increase the importance of asking and the difficulty in predicting whether and how his disruption of political norms will be embraced by future politicians: "Trump's electoral victory could incentivize an army of imitators; his difficult tenure could scare potential imitators off; or he could serve as a demolition man who lays waste to old political practices before someone else constructs a new style of political rhetoric unlike both the incumbent's and his predecessors." The article is published in PSQ's Winter 2017-2018 issue. Kathleen Hall Jamieson is director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. She is a co-founder of FactCheck.org and the author or co-author of 15 books, including "Packaging the Presidency," "Eloquence in an Electronic Age," and "The Obama Victory." Doron Taussig is the Vartan Gregorian Postdoctoral Fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center. The Annenberg Public Policy Center was established in 1994 to educate the public and policy makers about the media's role in advancing public understanding of political, health, and science issues at the local, state, and federal levels. ### (Boston)-- African American women with type 2 diabetes (often referred to as adult-onset diabetes) are at a greater risk for developing breast cancer. The findings appear in the journal Cancer Research. Evidence has emerged in recent years that the two major subtypes of breast cancer--estrogen receptor positive (ER+) and estrogen receptor negative (ER-) breast cancer--differ in some causes. Thus, the investigators focused on whether type 2 diabetes had differing associations with ER+ and ER- cancer. The research was based on data of 54,337 African American women enrolled in Boston University's Black Women's Health Study who were cancer free at enrollment in the study in 1995 and were followed for up to 18 years. During follow-up, 914 ER+ cases and 468 ER- cases were identified. African American women with type 2 diabetes were estimated to have a 43 percent increase in risk of ER- breast cancer relative to women without diabetes; in contrast, there was no increase in the risk of ER+ breast cancer among women with diabetes relative to women without diabetes. The increased risk of ER- breast cancer among women with diabetes was not explained by obesity status. "While we observed no association for the most common type of breast cancer, the type that is responsive to estrogens, women with diabetes were estimated to be at increased risk of developing estrogen receptor negative breast cancer, a more aggressive type of breast cancer which is twice as common in U.S. black women as in white women," explained corresponding author Julie Palmer, ScD, associate director of Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center, professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, and associate director for population sciences at the BU-BMC Cancer Center. According to Palmer plausible explanations for an increased risk of ER- breast cancer among women with diabetes include chronic inflammation resulting from diabetes which, among other actions, can promote carcinogenic processes. "Given that the prevalence of diabetes is twice as high in African Americans as in whites, the current finding, if confirmed, may help to explain the higher incidence of ER- breast cancer in African American women." ### Funding for this study was provided by the National Institutes of Health and in part by the Dahod Breast Cancer Research Program at the Boston University School of Medicine. CINCINNATI -- Thanks in part to nearly two decades of research at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the FDA has approved benralizumab, the first drug designed to specifically deplete eosinophils as a treatment for asthma. The FDA approved benralizumab as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma with eosinophil involvement. Eosinophils are a type of disease-fighting white blood cell. A higher than normal level of eosinophils can indicate a number of conditions, including infectious diseases and inflammatory disorders. FDA approval "represents a breakthrough for the field and offers a sigh of relief for the many patients suffering from eosinophilic disorders," says Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD, director of Allergy and Immunology and the Cincinnati Center for Eosinophilic Disorders at Cincinnati Children's. "While the initial FDA approval of benralizumab is limited to a subset of asthma patients, the treatment holds promise for eosinophilic gastrointestinal conditions, which are commonly treated off-label with asthma-approved drugs." Dr. Rothenberg began researching eosinophils as a doctoral student at Harvard University in the 1990s. It was at that time that the target of benralizumab (IL-5 and its receptor) were first identified and Dr. Rothenberg showed involvement of IL-5 in human disease and its effects on eosinophils. At Cincinnati Children's, Dr. Rothenberg, along with researchers around the world, provided evidence that eosinophils were pro-inflammatory cells involved in asthma and other allergic diseases. Dr. Rothenberg and his colleagues contributed to the rationale of targeting eosinophils, including performing clinical studies in patients with a variety of eosinophilic disorders. Dr. Rothenberg focuses his lab's research on elucidating the mechanisms of allergic responses, especially in mucosal tissues such as the gastrointestinal tract and lung. He contributed to research that ultimately resulted in the approval of two drugs that block IL-5 (reslizumab and mepolizumab). Mepolizumab was the first new asthma drug in more than a decade when it was approved in 2015. These drugs were the first to be approved on the basis of eosinophils mediating disease. They inhibit IL-5, a key eosinophil growth and survival factor. Benralizumab, on the other hand, has a different mechanism of action - directly depleting eosinophils via the IL-5 receptor. This FDA approval, and its prior approval of reslizumab and mepolizumab, demonstrate that commitment to basic research pays off in the long run, says Dr. Rothenberg. This has been a theme of research conducted by Dr. Rothenberg and his colleagues at Cincinnati Children's, who are focused on all aspects of eosinophil-related research, including basic, translational, and clinical interventions, he says. ### Engineers at the University of Maryland have found that porous types of wood from trees like poplar and pine can greatly increase the efficiency of water-to-steam conversion under sunlight. The findings, published November 15 in the journal Joule, could be used in a simple and inexpensive biodegradable device for water purification. "I think there are many, many materials that can be used in solar steam generation, but wood really stands out in terms of performance as well as cost," says senior author Liangbing Hu, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering in the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the University of Maryland Energy Innovation Institute. People have been harnessing the sun's energy to purify water for thousands of years, but in light of the freshwater shortages faced by many regions, there is increasing interest in developing technologies that use this simple technique to meet the world's demand for drinkable water. The process, called "solar steam generation," involves running water through a material or device that is heated by sunlight. The water evaporates into steam, leaving salt and contaminants behind. While different materials can be used, including graphite and copper nanotubes, Hu and his team found wood to be effective--but not all types of wood are equal. Of the species they evaluated, the more porous types like pine and poplar were most efficient. They observed that denser species, like the tropical hardwood cocobolo, generate steam at a slower rate since they have fewer pores through which water can travel. "In our case, you just take a piece of wood and burn the surface. That's it," he says. Hu and his team have been exploring different types of wood as solar steam generation devices. They tested the solar steam generation efficiency of wood blocks with a range of densities, each the size of the palm of a hand and only 1 or 2 mm thick. To darken the wood so it could better absorb heat from the sun, they carbonized (burned) the top of each block, and then they measured the rate at which water traveling through the wood was converted into steam. They found that elements of the wood's structure helped facilitate the process efficiently, with microscopic pores and larger channels allowing water to flow quickly and continuously to the sun-heated surface. The researchers believe these same structural elements make wood a superior material for generating clean freshwater from seawater. A common problem with other materials is that salt deposits begin to build up inside the device as water evaporates, which blocks the water's pathway to the top and prevents further evaporation. Since the channels inside of wood run straight up and down, salt deposits can simply dissolve back into the water below without blocking the way. Hu believes that porous wood has the potential to generate freshwater on a large scale sometime in the near future. He envisions wooden solar steam generation devices being used in water treatment plants across regions with plenty of saltwater and sunshine, from California to Singapore to Saudi Arabia. "We are trying to push this technology further for use as a product, eventually, for addressing water issues with high efficiency," Hu says. ### The authors received financial support from the China Scholarship Council. Joule, Jia and Li et al.: "Rich Mesostructures Derived from Natural Woods for Solar Steam Generation" http://www.cell.com/joule/fulltext/S2542-4351(17)30084-3 Joule (@Joule_CP), published monthly by Cell Press, is a new home for outstanding and insightful research, analysis, and ideas addressing the need for more sustainable energy. A sister journal to Cell, Joule spans all scales of energy research, from fundamental laboratory research into energy conversion and storage up to impactful analysis at the global level. Visit: http://www.cell.com/joule. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com. When a Cornell-led team of scientists analyzed two dozen environmental factors to understand bumblebee population declines and range contractions, they expected to find stressors like changes in land use, geography or insecticides. Instead, they found a shocker: fungicides, commonly thought to have no impact. "Insecticides work; they kill insects. Fungicides have been largely overlooked because they are not targeted for insects, but fungicides may not be quite as benign - toward bumblebees - as we once thought. This surprised us," said Scott McArt, assistant professor of entomology and the lead author on a new study published Nov. 15 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. While science has studied insecticides, such as neonicotinoids, that attack bugs' central nervous systems, this new work shows how fungicides - particularly chlorothalonil, a general-use fungicide often found in bumblebee and honeybee hives - may negatively affect bee health, said McArt, a fellow at Cornell's Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future. Building on a large data set collected by Sydney Cameron, professor of entomology at the University of Illinois, the scientists discovered what they call "landscape-scale" connections between fungicide usage, pathogen prevalence and declines of endangered United States bumblebees. (Landscape scale refers to the area in which foraging bumblebees live, about 2 kilometers in diameter.) While fungicides control plant pathogens in crops, the bees pick up their residue when foraging for pollen and nectar. As farms use both insecticides and fungicides, the scientists worry about synergy. "While most fungicides are relatively nontoxic to bees, many are known to interact synergistically with insecticides, greatly increasing their toxicity to the bees," McArt said. Chlorothalonil has been linked to stunted colony growth in bumblebees and an increased vulnerability to Nosema, a fatal gut infection in bumblebees and honeybees. "Nosema can be devastating to bumblebees and honeybees," said McArt. "Since fungicide exposure can increase susceptibility of bees to Nosema, this may be the reason we're seeing links between fungicide exposure, Nosema prevalence and bumblebee declines across the United States in this data set." For domestic and global agriculture, bumblebees are a key component due to their ability to use "buzz pollination" that vibrates and shakes pollen loose from flowers. In the United States, bees contribute more than $15 billion to the economy and $170 billion to global agribusiness, according to global economic research and a 2012 Cornell study. While half of crop pollination work is done by commercially managed honeybees in the U.S., the other half is done by bumblebees and wild bees. In New York, pollination services contribute $500 million to the state's agricultural economy. ### McArt and his Cornell colleagues will continue to investigate fungicide-insecticide synergisms and fungicide-pathogen interactions under the New York State Pollinator Protection Plan and a new grant from the New York Farm Viability Institute. Other authors of the study, "Landscape Predictors of Pathogen Prevalence and Range Contractions in United States Bumblebees," are Christine Urbanowicz, Dartmouth College; Shaun McCoshum, Westchester Land Trust; Rebecca E. Irwin, North Carolina State University; and Lynn S. Adler, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation. By India Today Web Desk: Professionally, things could not have looked better for Rajkummar Rao. He is all set to romance none other than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Fanney Khan. His film Newton is India's official entry to the Oscars this year. Bareilly Ki Barfi was a hit, and his latest release, Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana, made Rs 7.46 crore in its opening weekend, despite being panned by critics. advertisement Rajkummar has decided to cash in on his popularity by hiking his remuneration, if a report in Mumbai Mirror is to be believed. The actor is now charging three times what he used to. Incidentally, when Deccan Chronicle questioned Rajkummar about his hiked fee, he evaded the question. "I have no idea about this. You have to ask my team," he said, adding, "I don't work for money anyway, so I don't know where this is coming from." Rajkummar Rao is currently gearing up to play Subhas Chandra Bose in ALTBalaji's web-series Bose Dead/Alive, directed by Hansal Mehta. His girlfriend, Patralekha, will also be a part of the series. ALSO WATCH: In conversation with Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha --- ENDS --- A team working with ESO's High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at the La Silla Observatory in Chile has found that the red dwarf star Ross 128 is orbited by a low-mass exoplanet every 9.9 days. This Earth-sized world is expected to be temperate, with a surface temperature that may also be close to that of the Earth. Ross 128 is the "quietest" nearby star to host such a temperate exoplanet. "This discovery is based on more than a decade of HARPS intensive monitoring together with state-of-the-art data reduction and analysis techniques. Only HARPS has demonstrated such a precision and it remains the best planet hunter of its kind, 15 years after it began operations," explains Nicola Astudillo-Defru (Geneva Observatory - University of Geneva, Switzerland), who co-authored the discovery paper. Red dwarfs are some of the coolest, faintest -- and most common -- stars in the Universe. This makes them very good targets in the search for exoplanets and so they are increasingly being studied. In fact, lead author Xavier Bonfils (Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble - Universite Grenoble-Alpes/CNRS, Grenoble, France), named their HARPS programme The shortcut to happiness, as it is easier to detect small cool siblings of Earth around these stars, than around stars more similar to the Sun [1]. Many red dwarf stars, including Proxima Centauri, are subject to flares that occasionally bathe their orbiting planets in deadly ultraviolet and X-ray radiation. However, it seems that Ross 128 is a much quieter star, and so its planets may be the closest known comfortable abode for possible life. Although it is currently 11 light-years from Earth, Ross 128 is moving towards us and is expected to become our nearest stellar neighbour in just 79 000 years -- a blink of the eye in cosmic terms. Ross 128 b will by then take the crown from Proxima b and become the closest exoplanet to Earth! With the data from HARPS, the team found that Ross 128 b orbits 20 times closer than the Earth orbits the Sun. Despite this proximity, Ross 128 b receives only 1.38 times more irradiation than the Earth. As a result, Ross 128 b's equilibrium temperature is estimated to lie between -60 and 20C, thanks to the cool and faint nature of its small red dwarf host star, which has just over half the surface temperature of the Sun. While the scientists involved in this discovery consider Ross 128b to be a temperate planet, uncertainty remains as to whether the planet lies inside, outside, or on the cusp of the habitable zone, where liquid water may exist on a planet's surface [2]. Astronomers are now detecting more and more temperate exoplanets, and the next stage will be to study their atmospheres, composition and chemistry in more detail. Vitally, the detection of biomarkers such as oxygen in the very closest exoplanet atmospheres will be a huge next step, which ESO's Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is in prime position to take [3]. "New facilities at ESO will first play a critical role in building the census of Earth-mass planets amenable to characterisation. In particular, NIRPS, the infrared arm of HARPS, will boost our efficiency in observing red dwarfs, which emit most of their radiation in the infrared. And then, the ELT will provide the opportunity to observe and characterise a large fraction of these planets," concludes Xavier Bonfils. ### Notes [1] A planet orbiting close to a low-mass red dwarf star has a larger gravitational effect on the star than a similar planet orbiting further out from a more massive star like the Sun. As a result, this "reflex motion" velocity is much easier to spot. However, the fact that red dwarfs are fainter makes it harder to collect enough signal for the very precise measurements that are needed. [2] The habitable zone is defined by the range of orbits around a star in which a planet can possess the appropriate temperature for liquid water to exist on the planet's surface. [3] This is only possible for the very few exoplanets that are close enough to be angularly resolved from their stars. More information This research was presented in a paper entitled "A temperate exo-Earth around a quiet M dwarf at 3.4 parsecs", by X. Bonfils et al., to appear in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. The team is composed of X. Bonfils (Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG, Grenoble, France [IPAG]), N. Astudillo-Defru (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), R. Diaz (CONICET - Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio (IAFE), Buenos Aires, Argentina), J.-M. Almenara (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), T. Forveille (IPAG), F. Bouchy (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), X. Delfosse (IPAG), C. Lovis (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), M. Mayor (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), F. Murgas (Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain), F. Pepe (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), N. C. Santos (Instituto de Astrofisica e Ciencias do Espaco and Universidade do Porto, Portugal), D. Segransan (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland), S. Udry (Observatoire de Geneve, Universite de Geneve, Sauverny, Switzerland) and A. Wu?nsche (IPAG) ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 16 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile and by Australia as a strategic partner. ESO carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope and its world-leading Very Large Telescope Interferometer as well as two survey telescopes, VISTA working in the infrared and the visible-light VLT Survey Telescope. ESO is also a major partner in two facilities on Chajnantor, APEX and ALMA, the largest astronomical project in existence. And on Cerro Armazones, close to Paranal, ESO is building the 39-metre Extremely Large Telescope, the ELT, which will become "the world's biggest eye on the sky". Links * Research paper in Astronomy & Astrophysics - https://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/eso1736/eso1736a.pdf * Photos of the ESO 3.6-metre telescope - https://www.eso.org/public/images/archive/search/?adv=&subject_name=3.6 * More information about HARPS - https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/36/harps/ Contacts Xavier Bonfils Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble - Universite Grenoble-Alpes/CNRS Grenoble, France Email: xavier.bonfils@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr Nicola Astudillo-Defru Geneva Observatory - University of Geneva Geneva, Switzerland Email: nicola.astudillo@unige.ch Richard Hook ESO Public Information Officer Garching bei Munchen, Germany Tel: +49 89 3200 6655 Cell: +49 151 1537 3591 Email: rhook@eso.org On the occasion of the 10th European Antibiotic Awareness Day, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is releasing its latest EU-wide data on antibiotic resistance, as well as its guidance on prevention and control of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). In 2016, combined resistance to several antibiotic groups continued to increase for Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter species. This situation is of great concern as patients infected with these multidrug-resistant bacteria have very limited treatment options. Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: "with increasing resistance even to last-line antibiotics we face a frightening future where routine surgery, childbirth, pneumonia and even skin infections could once again become life threatening. To preserve our ability to effectively treat infections in humans and animals, we need to bridge differences between EU Member States and raise the level of all of them to that of the highest performer". He added: "that is the key objective of the new EU One Health action plan against AMR adopted this June. It focuses on areas that support and add value to Member States' actions to deliver innovative, effective and sustainable responses to AMR. It is only by working together at European and international level, collaborating and cooperating across all relevant sectors, that we can control and reverse AMR". For Escherichia coli, combined resistance, measured as resistance to fluoroquinolones, third-generation cephalosporins and aminoglycosides, increased significantly between 2013 and 2016. Furthermore, in 2016, high percentages of Acinetobacter species isolates, with combined resistance to carbapenems, aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones, were reported in southern and south-eastern Europe, as well as the Baltic countries. Nevertheless, it is encouraging to see that long-term efforts are slowly leading to positive results and that it is still possible to reverse the trends: the latest ECDC data indicate that the overall resistance situation for Klebsiella pneumoniae seems to be stabilising in Europe, although this was not always observed at national level, with some countries still showing an increase in combined resistance. Furthermore, the percentage of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) further decreased between 2013 and 2016. However, MRSA remains an issue as 10 out of 30 countries still report high percentages. Andrea Ammon, ECDC Director, stated: "even though we are starting to see some slight progress, we need to remain vigilant and work even harder to reduce the levels of antibiotic resistance. There are still significant increases in combined resistance for Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter species throughout Europe, and this situation is of great concern as patients infected with these multidrug-resistant bacteria have very limited treatment options". She added: "prudent antibiotic use and comprehensive infection prevention and control strategies targeting all healthcare sectors are fundamental. This is why today, ECDC is also launching its guidance on carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae". Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe said: "antimicrobial resistance is increasingly widespread in the WHO European Region as resistant microbes know no borders. Effective infection prevention and control is one of our most powerful weapons to address this global health threat". She noted: "On this year World Antibiotic Awareness Week, WHO calls on health workers in the European Region to prevent the spread of antimicrobial resistance in health care settings through proper hand hygiene". Resistance to carbapenems, an important last-line antibiotic group, continues to be reported mostly by countries with already high levels of multidrug-resistant bacteria. In these countries, the options to treat patients with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) infections are often limited to combination therapy and older antibiotics, such as colistin. The further emergence of resistance to colistin is a serious warning that options are becoming even more limited. Resistance percentages varied widely across Europe, being generally higher in southern and south-eastern Europe than in northern Europe. ### Notes to the editor: The new ECDC guidance on CRE defines which patients, at hospital admission, are 'at-risk' of CRE carriage and provides a decision-making flowchart for when to use supplemental infection prevention and control measures. These measures should be implemented by European hospitals and other healthcare settings to prevent entry and further spread of CRE. Both prudent use of antibiotics and infection prevention and control measures are essential to stop the spread of these bacteria. An increasing number of infections and outbreaks are being reported from healthcare settings which are caused by bacteria resistant to last-line antibiotics, notably the carbapenem class of antibiotics. The carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), in which Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) predominate, are responsible for a large number of patient deaths and higher hospital costs. Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common cause of urinary tract, respiratory tract and bloodstream infections. It can spread rapidly between patients in healthcare settings and is a frequent cause of hospital outbreaks, if appropriate prevention and control measures are not taken. Escherichia coli is one of the most frequent causes of bloodstream infections and of community- and healthcare-associated urinary tract infections worldwide. Acinetobacter species mainly cause healthcare-associated infections such as pneumonia and bloodstream infections, and often result in hospital outbreaks if appropriate prevention and control measures are not implemented. Acinetobacter species can persist in the healthcare environment and are difficult to eradicate once established. species mainly cause healthcare-associated infections such as pneumonia and bloodstream infections, and often result in hospital outbreaks if appropriate prevention and control measures are not implemented. species can persist in the healthcare environment and are difficult to eradicate once established. Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most frequent causes of antibiotic-resistant healthcare-associated infections worldwide. In addition, increasing levels of community-associated MRSA are being reported from many parts of the world, including Europe. European Antibiotic Awareness Day European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD) is a European health initiative coordinated by ECDC which provides a platform and support for national campaigns on the prudent use of antibiotics. Each year, EAAD is marked by national campaigns during the week of 18 November. Prudent use means only using antibiotics when they are needed, with the correct dose, dosage intervals and duration of the course http://antibiotic.ecdc.europa.eu. This year, the date of 18 November marks the 10th European Antibiotics Awareness Day. ECDC, in cooperation with the European Commission, will host an EU-level event entitled 'Keeping antibiotics working'. The event will take place in Brussels on 15 November 2017, from 9:00 to 13:00 CET. ECDC and partner organisations will be tweeting live using the hashtag #EAAD. Web stream: https://youtu.be/Biw-5Jx64jE. Furthermore, ECDC is launching a social media initiative called #KeepAntibioticsWorking, which aims to highlight the fact that everyone has a role to play in ensuring that these medicines remain effective. ECDC is asking policymakers, governmental institutions, professional and patient organisations, as well as health professionals and the general public to show what action they are taking to address the problem of antibiotic resistance. Anyone can take part by sharing messages, pictures or videos during the week of 13-19 November 2017 on different social media channels, using the hashtag #KeepAntibioticsWorking. World Antibiotic Awareness Week The World Health Organization is leading World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) with the slogan 'Antibiotics: Handle with Care'. The campaign calls on individuals, governments and health and agriculture professionals to take action to address this urgent health problem. The third WAAW will take place on 13-19 November 2017. EAAD partners with WAAW. Follow #AntibioticResistance. http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-antibiotic-awareness-week/en/. With less than 25,000 breeding pairs in existence today, it is an uphill battle for the African Penguin, which calls South Africa home. The 60 percent drop in their population since 2001 has put them on the endangered species list by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In some South African colonies, the drop in population has been as high as 80 percent. Competition with fisheries, oil spills, climate change, diseases and predators are all contributing factors in their dramatic decline. To preserve this species and optimize rehabilitation efforts, an epidemiologist from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute joined forces with scientists from the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB). The facility, located near Cape Town, South Africa, receives more than 900 African Penguins for rehabilitation each year. While the success rate for the overall release of these penguins back into the wild is about 75 percent, limited data exists on the factors that contribute to their successful rehabilitation. To better understand how to improve the rehabilitation of African Penguins, the researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind study on prognostic health indicators such as body mass, blood analysis, and infectious disease exposure. For the study, they analyzed 3,657 adult African Penguins that were admitted to the SANCCOB facility for rehabilitation between 2002 and 2013. Results of the study, published in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases, provide invaluable information on the importance of minimizing their rehabilitation time, treating their diseases early in the process, and controlling mosquitos to avoid infection. They found that the biggest risk factors for mortality are things that can be addressed in the first 10 days of their admission. This finding is key because approximately 70 percent of deaths occur during this time. They also identified markers of body mass and hematologic parameters that are important criteria in the initial assessment and treatment of wildlife admitted for rehabilitation. "Because most of the mortality of these birds occurs within the first 10 days after they are admitted, we wanted to develop more effective strategies to quickly reverse their various symptoms such as severe dehydration, hypothermia or hyperthermia, anemia, and extreme weight and muscle loss," said Adam M. Schaefer, M.P.H., co-author of the study and an epidemiologist at FAU's Harbor Branch, who collaborated with Nola J. Parsons, BVSc., Ph.D., corresponding author of the study, SANCCOB, and Ralph E.T. Vanstreels, D.V.M., Ph.D., co-author of the study, Nelson Mandela University. "A poor body condition may be an indication of poor food resources, physical or behavioral problems, or a combination, and is a significant predictor of survival of these seabirds during rehabilitation." The researchers calculated the effects of season of admission, reason for admittance, blood parasite infection status, and body mass, hematocrit, and total plasma protein upon admission in determining whether an individual penguin was likely to be released after rehabilitation. The most frequent reasons for rehabilitation were oiling (71.2 percent), followed by injury (19.6 percent). Injured penguins had lower body mass than healthy wild adult penguins, suggesting that these birds had suboptimal foraging success, which made them more vulnerable. Debilitation accounted for 4.3 percent of the admissions followed by molting problems - an annual process of losing and replacing their feathers - accounting for 3.9 percent of admissions. Findings from the study show that when compared with an oiled penguin, an injured penguin was 13.1 times more likely to die in rehabilitation. While oil pollution is a historical threat to the conservation of African Penguins, the researchers found that on average, 93 percent of the oiled penguins admitted during the study period were rehabilitated successfully and released back into the wild. "We suspect that the reason for this high success rate is because oiled penguins were often admitted in good body condition and health status," said Schaefer. "In addition, their condition when they are oiled is physically obvious to conservation officers for collection and rehabilitation." The release rate for penguins admitted with injuries varied between 52 and 71 percent depending on the affected body part, revealing that there are still challenges in the medicine of trauma for this species. Duration of stay was longest for the birds that sustained chest injuries compared to tail, flipper or leg injuries, which is related to the time required for feathers to regrow after an injury has healed. Furthermore, penguins admitted to the rehabilitation center while undergoing molt or due to arrested molt, had low release rates and were more likely to die, indicating that artificial induction of molt (through hormonal supplementation or light-cycle manipulation, for example) could benefit the rehabilitation of these birds. "The key is making sure that these penguins are in the right condition to be released and finding that 'sweet spot' where we know that they are healthy enough to be released into the wild and do well," said Schaefer. "We have an amazing collaboration with Dr. Parsons and Dr. Vanstreels to continue our research on this project to preserve this incredible species, which is threatened with extinction because of natural and human causes." ### About Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute: Founded in 1971, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University is a research community of marine scientists, engineers, educators and other professionals focused on Ocean Science for a Better World. The institute drives innovation in ocean engineering, at-sea operations, drug discovery and biotechnology from the oceans, coastal ecology and conservation, marine mammal research and conservation, aquaculture, ocean observing systems and marine education. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu/hboi. About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu. Security features are to protect bank notes, documents, and branded products against counterfeiting. Losses caused by product forgery and counterfeiting may be enormous. According to the German Engineering Association, the damage caused in 2016 in its branch alone amounted to EUR 7.3 billion. In the Advanced Materials Technologies journal, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the ZEISS company now propose to use printed 3D microstructures instead of 2D structures, such as holograms, to improve counterfeit protection. "Today, optical security features, such as holograms, are frequently based on two-dimensional microstructures," says Professor Martin Wegener, expert for 3D printing of microstructures at the Institute of Nanotechnology of KIT. "By using 3D-printed fluorescent microstructures, counterfeit protection can be increased." The new security features have a side length of about 100 m and are barely visible with the eye or a conventional microscope. For their production and application, Wegener and his team have developed an innovative method that covers all processes from microstructure fabrication to the readout of information. The microstructures consist of a 3D cross-grid scaffold and dots that fluoresce in different colors and can be arranged variably in three dimensions within this grid. To produce and print such microstructures, the experts use a rapid and precise laser lithography device developed and commercialized by the Nanoscribe company, a spinoff of KIT. It enables highly precise manufacture of voluminous structures of a few millimeters edge length or of microstructured surfaces of several cm in dimension. The special 3D printer produces the structures layer by layer from non-fluorescent and two fluorescent photoresists. A laser beam very precisely passes certain points of the liquid photoresist. The material is exposed and hardened at the focus point of the laser beam. The resulting filigree structure is then embedded in a transparent polymer in order to protect it against damage. "Security features produced in this way are not only of individual character, but also very complex in manufacture. This makes life difficult to forgers," says Frederik Mayer of the Institute of Nanotechnology of KIT. The new process can be extended easily and is extremely versatile. The 3D features may be applied as an embedded foil in security tags to protect pharmaceuticals, car spare parts, or mobile accumulators against counterfeiting. They may also be integrated into the transparent windows of bank notes. For later authentication checks at the supermarket checkout or in the production hall, special readout instruments are required to detect the fluorescent 3D structures. ### The research results are reported by the scientists in Advanced Materials Technologies: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/admt.201700212/abstract For further information, please contact: Kosta Schinarakis, Science Scout, Phone: +49 721 608-41956, Fax: +49 721 608-43658, Email: schinarakis@kit.edu Being "The Research University in the Helmholtz Association," KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility and information. For this, about 9,300 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 26,000 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. Since 2010, the KIT has been certified as a family-friendly university. This press release is available on the internet at http://www.sek.kit.edu/english/press_office.php. A study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto has identified a molecular pathway that appears to be critical to the development of fibrosis - scarring and excessive tissue deposition that result from abnormal healing responses and can compromise the function of vital organs. In their report that has received advance online publication in Nature Medicine, the researchers describe a series of molecular interactions that are essential for the induction of lung and skin fibrosis in a mouse model and appear to be active in human fibrotic lung disease. "The ability of organs to regenerate following injury declines with age, so aberrant healing in response to chronic tissue injury in aged individuals can result in fibrosis - which contributes to 45 percent of deaths in the developing world," explains David Lagares, PhD, director of the Matrix and Mechanobiology Program at the MGH Fibrosis Research Center, co-corresponding author of the report. "Fibrosis is a component of chronic kidney disease, liver cirrhosis and pulmonary fibrosis; and the pathway we have identified could be a therapeutic target for halting the process and for restoring organ function." Normal healing requires the interaction of many cell types - immune cells, stem cells, and the connective tissue cells called fibroblasts. Activated fibroblasts are called myofibroblasts and orchestrate many aspects of the healing process. But severe or repetitive injury can cause myofibroblasts to become hyperactive, setting off an out-of-control tissue buildup that leads to fibrosis. The molecular mediators underlying fibroblast activation are poorly understood, and their identification was a primary focus of the current study. "We specifically wanted to identify factors that could control profibrotic activity without affecting normal wound healing," says co-corresponding author Mohit Kapoor, PhD, director of Arthritis Research in the Krembil Research Institute at UHN. "Identifying these factors will not only further enhance our understanding of the pathogenesis of fibrosis but will also provide new antifibrotic targets for multiple diseases." The investigators first searched a gene expression database for genes that were upregulated in fibroblasts from patients with two important fibrotic diseases - idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and systemic sclerosis or scleroderma - compared with healthy individuals. One of the genes they identified codes for the cell membrane protein ephrin-B2, which binds to receptors on adjacent cells. During normal development ephrin-B2 regulates the formation and assembly of blood vessels, and its activity has been associated with the development of new blood vessels within and around malignant tumors. After confirming increased ephrin-B2 expression in a set of lung fibroblasts from patients with IPF, the team found that suppressing ephrin-B2 expression blocked the development of lung fibrosis in a mouse model. Further investigation revealed that the attraction of additional fibroblasts to sites of lung injury and their activation into myofibroblasts was set off when the portion of the ephrin-B2 protein that extends outside the cell membrane was clipped off by an enzyme called ADAM10, releasing a molecule called sEphrin-B2. "Finding that this extracellular portion of ephrin-B2 was cleaved from the cell surface and secreted into the airspace following lung injury was totally unexpected and led us to hypothesize that this soluble form of ephrin-B2 may contribute to lung fibrosis," says Lagares, a principal investigator in the MGH Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and faculty member at Harvard Medical School. "While ephrin-B2 typically interacts with receptors on different types of cells, both ephrin-B2 and its receptors are expressed on the surface of myofibroblasts, where their interaction usually suppresses the process leading to the overaccumulation of fibrotic tissue. In the novel mechanism we have discovered, the release of sEphrin-B2 prevents that inhibitory interaction and activates the receptors, leading to the amplification of tissue fibrosis." In their mouse model of lung fibrosis, the inhibition of ADAM10 prevented the shedding of sEphrin-B2 and reduced fibrosis and death. Increased ADAM10-sEphrin-B2 signaling was also found in lung fibroblasts from IPF patients, and the enzyme's inhibition reduced sEphrin-B2 shedding in cells from both IPF patients and healthy volunteers. Suppression of ADAM10-sEphrin-B2 signaling also reduced the expression of several fibrosis-associated proteins in myofibroblasts from patients with IPF, and levels of sEphrin-B2 were higher in both lung fluid and plasma from patients than from healthy volunteers. "Myofibroblasts are absent in healthy tissues, but their numbers and activity are markedly increased in fibrotic diseases," says Kapoor, a senior scientist at UHN. "Our identification of the ADAM10-sEphrin-B2 pathway as a promoter of myofibroblast activation gives us a number of attractive therapeutic targets for pulmonary and other fibrotic diseases." The team is continuing to investigate the fibrogenic program induced by ephrin-B2 signaling in activated myofibroblasts and testing the potential efficacy of neutralizing ephrin-B2 antibodies in tissue fibrosis. A guiding force behind this work was the late Andrew Tager, MD, of the MGH Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, who founded what is now the Andrew Tager Fibrosis Research Center. "Andy was a giant in pulmonary fibrosis research and one of the most influential scientific minds in the field. His vision and insight were crucial to the discovery of the ADAM10-sEphrin-B2 pathway in pulmonary fibrosis" says Lagares. A co-author of this Nature Medicine paper and an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Tager passed away in August 2017. ### Support for the study includes grants from the Campaign to Cure Arthritis via the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation, University of Montreal, the American Thoracic Society Foundation, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, the Scleroderma Foundation, the Scleroderma Research Foundation and National Institutes of Health grant HL108975. Massachusetts General Hospital, founded in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH Research Institute conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the nation, with an annual research budget of more than $900 million and major research centers in HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, computational and integrative biology, cutaneous biology, genomic medicine, medical imaging, neurodegenerative disorders, regenerative medicine, reproductive biology, systems biology, photomedicine and transplantation biology. The MGH topped the 2015 Nature Index list of health care organizations publishing in leading scientific journals and earned the prestigious 2015 Foster G. McGaw Prize for Excellence in Community Service. In August 2017 the MGH was once again named to the Honor Roll in the U.S. News & World Report list of "America's Best Hospitals." CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- A drop or two of cold cream in hot coffee can go a long way toward improving one's morning. But what if the two liquids didn't mix? MIT scientists have now explained why under certain conditions a droplet of liquid should not coalesce with the liquid surface below. If the droplet is very cold, and the bath sufficiently hot, then the droplet should "levitate" on the bath's surface, as a result of the flows induced by the temperature difference. The team's results, published today in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, offer a detailed, mathematical understanding of drop coalescence, which can be observed in everday phenomena, from milk poured in coffee to raindrops skittering across puddles, and sprays created in surf zones. The results may help researchers understand how biological or chemical substances are spread by rain or other sprays in nature. They could also serve as a guide for droplet-based designs, such as in microfluidic chips, in which droplets carrying various reagents can be designed to mix only in certain locations in a chip, at certain temperatures. With this new understanding, researchers could also engineer droplets to act as mechanical ball bearings in zero-gravity environments. "Based on our new theory, engineers can determine what is the initial critical temperature difference they need to maintain two drops separately, and what is the maximum weight that a bearing constructed from these levitating drops would be able to sustain," says Michela Geri, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering and the study's lead author. "If you have a fundamental understanding, you can start designing things the way you want them to work." Geri's co-authors are Bavand Keshavarz, a lecturer in mechanical engineering, John Bush, professor of applied mathematics in MIT's Department of Mathematics, and Gareth McKinley, the School of Engineering Professor of Teaching Innovation. An uplifting experiment The team's results grew out of a question that Bush posed in his graduate course 18.357 (Interfacial Phenomena): Why should a temperature difference play a role in a droplet's coalescence, or mixing? Geri, who was taking the course at the time, took on the challenge, first by carrying out a series of experiments in McKinley's lab. She built a small box, about the size of an espresso cup, with acrylic walls and a metal floor, which she placed on a hot/cold plate. She filled the cube with a bath of silicone oil, and just above the surface of the bath she set a syringe through which she pumped droplets of silicone oil of the same viscosity. In each series of experiments, she set the temperature of the hot/cold plate, and measured the temperatures of the oil pumped through the syringe and at the surface of the bath. Geri used a high-speed camera to record each droplet, at 2,000 frames per second, from the time it was released from the syringe to the time at which it mixed thoroughly with the bath. She performed this experiment using silicone oils with a range of viscosities, from water-like to 500 times thicker. She found that droplets appeared to levitate on a bath's surface as the temperature gradient between the two fluids increased. She was able to levitate a droplet, delaying its coalescence, by as long as 10 seconds, by maintaining a temperature difference of up to 30 degrees Celsius, or 86 degrees Fahrenheit, comparable to the difference between a drop of cold milk on a bath of hot black coffee. Geri plotted the data and observed that the droplet's residence time on the bath's surface seemed to depend on the initial temperature difference between the two fluids, raised to the power of two-thirds. She also noticed that there exists a critical temperature difference at which a droplet of a given viscosity will not mix but instead levitate on a liquid surface. "We saw this relationship clearly in the lab and then tried to develop a theory in hopes of rationalizing that dependence," Geri says. A cushion's character The team first looked to characterize the layer of air separating the droplet from the bath. The researchers hypothesized that a temperature difference between the two fluids may influence this air cushion, which may in turn act to keep a droplet afloat. To investigate this idea mathematically, the researchers performed a calculation, referred to in fluid mechanics as a lubrication analysis, in which they appropriately simplified the complex equations describing fluid motion, to describe the flow of air between the droplet and the bath. Through these equations, they found that temperature differences between the fluid drop and the fluid bath create convection, or circulating currents in the intervening layer of air. The greater the temperature difference, the stronger the air currents, and the greater the pressure that pushes against the droplet's weight, preventing it from sinking and making contact with the bath. "We found the force coming from the droplet's weight and the force coming from the recirculation of the air layer will balance at a point, and to get that balance, you need a minimum, or critical temperature difference, in order for the droplet to levitate," Geri says. Inside a single drop Next, the team looked for a mathematical explanation for why they observed the 2:3 relationship between the amount of time a droplet levitates on a liquid surface and the initial temperature difference between the two fluids. "For that, we had to think about how the temperature of the drop changes over time and approaches the temperature of the bath," Geri says. "With a temperature difference, you generate a flow inside the drop, drawing up heat from the bath, which circulates around until the droplet temperature is the same as the bath and you don't levitate anymore," Bush adds. "We were able to describe that process mathematically." To do so, the researchers adapted another set of equations, which describe the mixing of two fluids. They used the equations to model a warm parcel of liquid within the droplet that has been warmed by the bath below. They were able to characterize how that parcel of liquid mixed with the colder portions of the droplet, warming the entire droplet over time. Through this modeling, they could observe how the temperature difference between fluids decreased over time, to the point at which a droplet stopped levitating and ultimately mixed with the rest of the bath. "If you study that process mathematically, you can show the way in which temperature is changing in the droplet over time is exactly with this power law of 2/3 that we observed in our experiments," Geri says. Bush says that their results can be used to characterize the spread of certain chemical and biological agents that are transferred through raindrops and sprays. "There are a lot of biological and chemical mixing events that involve droplet interactions, including in the surf zone, with waves breaking and small drops flying everywhere, and in hot tubs, with bubbles bursting and releasing droplets that skitter along the surface," Bush says. "The rate at which these agents mix will depend on how long drops stay afloat before coalescing. Now we know that depends on temperature, and we can say exactly how." ### This research was supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and MIT Energy Initiative through the Energy Fellowship Program. ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND: VIDEO: https://youtu.be/nXivZw-c7Vk ARCHIVE: Using light to propel water http://news.mit.edu/2017/using-light-propel-water-0425 ARCHIVE: Spray tuning http://news.mit.edu/2016/spray-tuning-droplets-sticky-fluids-1110 With opioid addiction officially declared a public health emergency in the U.S., medical intervention to treat the illness is increasingly important in responding to the epidemic. Now, a new study concludes that two of the top medications available for outpatient, office-based treatment, once initiated, are equally safe and effective in curtailing opioid use, relapse, treatment drop-out and overdose. Researchers in the Departments of Psychiatry and Population Health at NYU School of Medicine, who led the study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and published online November 14, 2017 in The Lancet, conclude that extended-release naltrexone (an opioid antagonist marketed as Vivitrol) demonstrated similar safety and clinical effectiveness to more commonly prescribed buprenorphine-naloxone (an opioid agonist marketed both generically and as Suboxone). However, the study also points out differences that have previously been known: Patients being treated with naltrexone must detoxify before it can be administered. (This is commonly referred to as the "detox hurdle.") On the other hand, buprenorphine allows individuals to transition relatively seamlessly from opioid use to medication maintenance without needing to detoxify. Agonist (buprenorphine) and antagonist (naltrexone) treatment are pharmacologically, conceptually and logistically near-opposites -- allowing patients, families and providers to choose an approach in line with their goals and preferences. Among the differences: Agonists activate opioid receptors, have opioid-like effects, and maintain physical dependence on opioids, while antagonists have no effects on their own and block the effects of opioids Agonists can be started while a patient is still opioid dependent or detoxifying, but antagonists only can be administered after full detoxification to avoid opioid withdrawals When discontinued, agonists are associated with withdrawal symptoms; antagonists are not Agonists have abuse potential and diversion risks; antagonists do not There are differences in prescribing regulations and community acceptance between the two forms of treatment Despite these differences, the researchers say, until now there had been no comparative data on the effectiveness of both treatments. "As the epidemic has escalated, and hundreds of people in the U.S. and elsewhere are dying every day, there is an increased urgency to provide immediate and effective medical treatment," says John Rotrosen, MD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine and the study's senior author. "Our findings should dispel some commonly held misconceptions and help patients choose between these different approaches to treatment." What the Study Examined The clinical trial took place from 2014 to 2017 at eight community treatment programs affiliated with NIDA's Clinical Trials Network across the U.S. The patient cohort involved 570 opioid dependent adults, approximately two-thirds of whom were men and 82% primarily using heroin. They were recruited during admission for detoxification and randomly assigned to two study groups for up to 24 weeks of treatment. One group received a monthly injection of naltrexone initiated after completing detoxification, and the other self-administered a daily oral dose of buprenorphine initiated as early as possible after randomization. Among those treated, 24-week relapse rates were similar -- 52% for naltrexone and 55.6% for buprenorphine, as were other measures of opioid use. In addition, craving for opioids was lower with naltrexone, though by the end of 24 weeks, the buprenorphine group had caught up. Other than mild to moderate injection site reactions with naltrexone, adverse events, including fatal and non-fatal overdoses, were similar across the two study groups. The study also examined the detox hurdle -- a critical point of initiation for active users (though a non-issue for those who are already fully detoxed). Approximately 25% of participants assigned to the naltrexone group were unable to complete detox and get a first dose of naltrexone -- though for those assigned to naltrexone later in the detox process, the hurdle wasn't so insurmountable. In contrast, only 6%, of patients were unable to start buprenorphine. The study could have immediate implications for how the U.S. responds to a crisis that has already claimed 300,000 lives since 2000, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Both medications are effective treatments for opioid use disorders versus counseling-only approaches or compared to placebo," says Joshua D. Lee, MD, MSc, associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Population Health at NYU School of Medicine and the study's lead author. "What is now clear is how similar the outcomes are for those initiating treatment with either medication." The researchers also point out that the study sheds light on the likelihood that those dropping out of detox will rapidly relapse. "Patients wanting naltrexone, but who are unable to complete detox," Lee adds, "should be encouraged to start an agonist-based treatment like buprenorphine." A smaller (total cohort of 159 patients) and shorter (up to 12 weeks of treatment) parallel study conducted in Norway over the same period found naltrexone and buprenorphine to be equally effective in retaining patients in treatment and reducing opioid use. However, all participants in that study were randomized late in detox so there was no "hurdle" to clear. Prior to these two studies, the field had no comparative effectiveness data. An earlier multi-site clinical trial led by NYU School of Medicine found in 2016 that extended-release Naltrexone was effective at preventing opioid relapse in criminal justice offenders. ### In addition to Lee and Rotrosen, the study is co-authored by Patricia Novo, MPA, MPH, Sarah Farkas, MA, Phoebe Gauthier, MA, MPH, and Stephen Ross, MD, of NYU School of Medicine; Edward V, Nunes, MD, of the New York State Psychiatric Institute at Columbia University Medical Center; Ken Bachrach, PhD, of Tarzana Treatment Centers in Tarzana, California; Genie L. Bailey, MD, of Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and Stanley Street Treatment & Resources in Fall River, Massachusetts; Snehal Bhatt, MD, of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine; Marc Fishman, MD, of Maryland Treatment Centers and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; Candace C. Hodgkins, PhD, of Gateway Community Services, Inc. in Jacksonville, Florida; Jacquie King, MS, Robert Lindblad, MD, Abigail G Matthews, PhD, Jeanine May, PhD, Dagmar Salazar, MS, Dikla Shmueli-Blumberg, PhD, and Don Stablein, PhD, of The Emmes Corporation, in Rockville, Maryland; David Liu, MD, and Geetha Subramaniam, MD, of the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA); K. Michelle Peavy, PhD, of Evergreen Treatment Services in Seattle; and Paul Schkolnik, PhD, of Maryhaven, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio. This study was principally supported by NIDA. Lee and Rotrosen report other research support from NIDA and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and in-kind study drug from Alkermes for another trial. Nunes received other research support from NIDA, Brainsway, Braeburn Pharma, and Alkermes, and consulting fees from the University of Arkansas. Fishman received other research support from Alkermes, U.S. World Meds, MediaRez, and the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, and consulting fees from Alkermes and U.S. World Meds. Ross received other research support from NIDA, the Heffter Research Institute, Council on Spiritual Practices, and the Sarlo Foundation, and travel support from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. A new study confirms what marine mammal researchers have suspected for a while: right whales use nearly the entire eastern seaboard during the winter, and they move around a lot more than was previously thought. How long they spend in some areas of their range has also changed in recent years. The findings, published in Nature Scientific Reports, were based on passive acoustic monitoring. Using bottom-mounted listening devices deployed along the coast, researchers can record whale calls 24/7 and obtain new insights into how whales use all habitats. "This study demonstrates that passive acoustic monitoring is a useful tool in understanding and tracking shifts in the movements of large whales over long periods of time," said Genevieve Davis, an acoustician at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Woods Hole Laboratory in Massachusetts and lead author of the study. "This kind of information is impossible to access in any other way because of weather and day light constraints for visual surveys." Analysis of data collected by passive acoustic monitoring between 2004 and 2014 by 19 organizations throughout the western North Atlantic Ocean revealed North Atlantic right whales have increased time spent in the Mid-Atlantic region since 2010 and decreased their presence in the northern Gulf of Maine. They were also less likely to be found in the waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina in summer and fall, and are widely distributed across most regions throughout the winter months. "Right whales are the least abundant but most intensively studied species, yet we don't know a lot about them in terms of their movements and migration patterns," Davis said. "They seem to be visiting the Bay of Fundy less frequently than they used to, now appearing along the East Coast year-round where they were once only seen for a few weeks passing through, and more of them are gathering as a population in Cape Cod Bay in recent years." More than 35,600 days of data from 324 listening devices deployed from Florida to Canada were processed for the study using an automated classification and detection system. The data confirmed the nearly year-round presence of North Atlantic right whales along the entire East Coast, particularly north of Cape Hatteras. In the past researchers assumed the majority of the population migrated between calving grounds off northern Florida and Georgia in winter months and northern feeding grounds off New England and Canada in summer months, but the data reveal that not all of the population has an annual migration. North Atlantic right whales were detected from Jacksonville, Florida to Nova Scotia from late October through early April. The only exception was on the Scotian Shelf, where no whales were detected from December through February. Fewer detections were recorded during the summer months in southern areas, indicating the known movement of breeding individuals towards northern feeding grounds. Right whales were also detected near Iceland and Greenland from July through October, and whales have been sighted more frequently further north as far as the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Individual right whales have also made trips to European waters, including a 131-day round trip from U.S. waters to an old whaling ground off northern Norway. Marine mammal researchers have been observing changes in the right whale population for some time. Evidence of a potential right whale mating ground in the Gulf of Maine was published by NEFSC scientists in 2013. "We are still seeing right whales in the central Gulf of Maine, just not in the same numbers. They are still out there, but where they all are is the big question," lead study author and NEFSC biologist Tim Cole said at the time. Data from a number of different research projects and goals were combined for this study, one of the first comprehensive, long-term passive acoustic studies to investigate an entire habitat range for a marine mammal at this time and space scale. Five types of bottom-mounted passive acoustic recorders were deployed during the study period, each able to listen to calls from multiple whale species at one time. Right whale calls include the low-frequency modulated upsweep known as the "upcall". It is a contact call used throughout the North Atlantic right whale's range, produced by all ages and both sex classes, and considered the most reliable call to use for determining right whale presence. "We now have baseline information on right whale distributions across their current range," Davis said of the recent study. "It isn't clear what is causing the changes in right whale occupancy since 2010. It could be a response to human causes or to the changing environment, or both. Passive acoustic monitoring is a powerful, cost-effective, long-term monitoring tool that can give a better understanding of trends and reveal range expansion, decline, or distribution shifts in populations, as well as changes from year to year. This information can be used to direct science and management to areas of interest. In an ocean where conditions are changing rapidly, adaptive management is needed to identify and protect areas that are crucial for this species." ### So much snow that researchers needed the help of tractor-mounted snowblowers A 6-foot-wide snow blower mounted on a tractor makes a lot of sense when you live on the Tug Hill Plateau. Tug Hill, in upstate New York, is one of the snowiest places in the Eastern U.S. and experiences some of the most intense snowstorms in the world. This largely rural region, just east of Lake Ontario, gets an average of 20 feet of snow a year. Hence the tractor-mounted snow blower. The region's massive snow totals are due to lake-effect snowstorms and, it turns out, to the shape of Lake Ontario. Lake-effect storms begin when a cold mass of air moves over relatively warm water. The heat and moisture from the water destabilize the air mass and cause intense, long-lasting storms. Lake-effect snow is common in the Great Lakes region and in areas downwind of large bodies of water, including the Great Salt Lake. Researchers, including the University of Utah's Jim Steenburgh and University of Wyoming's Bart Geerts, now report that these intense snowstorms are fueled by air circulation driven by the heat released by the lake, and that the shoreline geography of Lake Ontario affects the formation and location of this circulation. The result? Very heavy snowfall. The findings, published in three papers, show how the shorelines of lakes may help forecasters determine the impacts of lake-effect storms. "Lake Ontario's east-west orientation allows intense bands of snow to form," said Ed Bensman, a program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research. "This study found that the shape of the lake's shoreline can have an important influence on the low-level winds that lead to bands of snow for long periods of time -- and to heavy snow totals. The research team analyzed the strength of these snow bands, and their formation and persistence. Snow bands were often active for several days." Lake-effect When land breezes move offshore from places where the coastline bulges out into a lake, unstable air masses form and drive a narrow band of moisture that dumps its moisture as snow on a strip of land downwind of the lake. Steenburgh said it's long been known that breezes coming from the shore onto a lake help initiate and direct the formation of snow bands. Steenburgh and Geerts, and colleagues from universities in Illinois, Pennsylvania and upstate New York, traveled to Lake Ontario as part of an NSF-funded project called Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems (OWLeS). The scientists investigated several questions about lake-effect systems: What environmental factors have the greatest influence on the amount of snowfall and location of snowbands over and near Lake Ontario? How does the interplay between wind and clouds produce long-lived snowbands far downstream of open water? How does the local terrain influence the strength and longevity of these systems? To find out, Geerts' team flew a Wyoming King Air research plane through winter storms, and Steenburgh's group set up weather monitoring equipment, including profiling radars and snow-measurement stations, to monitor the arrival of lake-effect storms near Tug Hill. The researchers witnessed the region's intense snowfall, including one storm that dropped 40 inches in 24 hours. Snowfall rates often exceeded 4 inches per hour. "That's an amazing rate," Steenburgh said. "It's just an explosion of snow." The role of the bulge Wyoming Cloud Radar aboard the King Air plane detected an intense secondary air circulation across the main snow band. "This circulation had a narrow updraft, creating and lifting snow like a fountain in a narrow strip that dumped heavy snow where it made landfall," Geerts said. Using a weather model, Steenburgh's team found that this circulation's origin was a land breeze generated by the lake's uneven shoreline geography. In some cases, another land breeze generated a second snow band that merged with the first. "The intense secondary circulation, with updrafts up to 20 miles per hour, had never been observed before," Geerts said. One particular shoreline feature played a large role: a gentle, broad bulge along Lake Ontario's southern shore that extends from about Niagara Falls in the west to Rochester, New York, in the east. "This bulge was important in determining where the lake-effect snow bands developed," Steenburgh said. "A bulge near Oswego, New York, on the southeast shore, also contributed to an increase in the precipitation downstream of Lake Ontario over Tug Hill." Steenburgh says the residents of the region take the heavy snowfall in stride. Roads are kept plowed, and the team found that on many days, the biggest challenge was just getting out of the driveway of the house they stayed in. Once the tractor-snow blower was fired up, however, the researchers had a clear shot. "We're a bunch of snow geeks," Steenburgh said. "We love to see it snowing like that. It's really pretty incredible. And our friends on Tug Hill made sure we could do our research." Better forecasts Incorporating considerations of shoreline geography into weather forecast models can help predict which communities might be most affected by snowstorms, Steenburgh said. Understanding the effect of breezes that arise from the shore's shape is the key. "If we want to pinpoint where the lake-effect is going to be, we're going to have to do a very good job of simulating what's happening along these coastal areas," he said. ### First genetic mutation discovered to protect against multiple aspects of aging in humans Amish carrying the mutation live more than 13 percent longer to 85 years old instead of 75 for those who don't carry the mutation Longevity drug developed from this research is being tested in humans Closely related form of drug being developed as topical treatment for baldness CHICAGO --- The first genetic mutation that appears to protect against multiple aspects of biological aging in humans has been discovered in an extended family of Old Order Amish living in the vicinity of Berne, Indiana, report Northwestern Medicine scientists. An experimental "longevity" drug that recreates the effect of the mutation is now being tested in human trials to see if it provides protection against some aging-related illnesses. Indiana Amish kindred (immediate family and relatives) with the mutation live more than 10 percent longer and have 10 percent longer telomeres (a protective cap at the end of our chromosomes that is a biological marker of aging) compared to Amish kindred members who don't have the mutation, reports the new Northwestern study. Amish with this mutation also have significantly less diabetes and lower fasting insulin levels. A composite measure that reflects vascular age also is lower -- indicative of retained flexibility in blood vessels in the carriers of the mutation -- than those who don't have the mutation, the research also found. The paper will be published Nov. 15 in the journal Science Advances. These Amish individuals have very low levels of PAI-1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor,) a protein that comprises part of a "molecular fingerprint" related to aging or senescence of cells. It was previously known that PAI-1 was related to aging in animals but unclear how it affected aging in humans. "The findings astonished us because of the consistency of the anti-aging benefits across multiple body systems," said Dr. Douglas Vaughan, the lead author of the paper who has been studying PAI-1 for almost 30 years. Vaughan, a cardiologist, is the Irving S. Cutter Professor and chairman of medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Medicine. "For the first time we are seeing a molecular marker of aging (telomere length), a metabolic marker of aging (fasting insulin levels) and a cardiovascular marker of aging (blood pressure and blood vessel stiffness) all tracking in the same direction in that these individuals were generally protected from age-related changes," Vaughan said. "That played out in them having a longer lifespan. Not only do they live longer, they live healthier. It's a desirable form of longevity. It's their 'health span.'" "Longevity" drug developed by Northwestern and Tohoku University Northwestern has partnered with Tohoku University in Japan in the development and testing of an oral drug, TM5614, that inhibits the action of PAI-1. The drug has already been tested in a phase 1 trial in Japan and is now in phase 2 trials there. Northwestern will apply for FDA approval to start an early phase trial in the U.S., possibly to begin within the next six months. The proposed Northwestern trial will investigate the effects of the new drug on insulin sensitivity on individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity because of the mutation's effect on insulin levels in the Amish. A mutation confers longevity In the new study, Northwestern scientists looked at individuals who had one mutant copy of the gene, rendering their level of PAI-1 about half the level of kindred with two normal copies. Those carriers of the gene mutation had nearly 30 percent lower fasting insulin levels and were completely protected from diabetes. "We were definitely surprised," Vaughan said. "Even when we analyze it factoring for their relatedness, the mutation is still an important predictor of whether they'll get diabetes." He said 7 percent of the kindred with two normal copies of the gene have diabetes, so out of the 177 Amish participants in the study, he would expect three or four of the carriers of the single mutant gene to have the disease as well. The scientists also saw an improvement in a group of cardiovascular measures -- lower blood pressure and more flexible blood vessels -- that change with age. The improvement did not reach statistical significance, but the carriers of the mutant gene have a younger appearing cardiovascular system, Vaughan said. In particular, individuals in the oldest third of the group have a reduced pulse pressure, indicative of more flexible arteries. Cognitive testing will be part of future measurements for the study. Experimental data in mice shows lower levels of PAI-1 can protect against Alzheimer's-like pathology. "We hope to be able to revisit them regularly and do additional testing to look at the velocity of aging in this kindred and unearth more details about the protective effect of this mutation," Vaughan said. An isolated population offers a rare opportunity The Amish kindred in Berne, Indiana, have been genetically and culturally isolated and most are at least distantly related. The ancestors of the Indiana Amish emigrated in the middle of the 19th century from Berne, Switzerland. The town recalls the architecture of their original home in Switzerland with its Swiss-style clock tower and architecture. The mutation was introduced into the Amish kindred by farmers from Switzerland, who moved into the area. Two of their descendants, who carried the mutation, married into the Amish community. The Amish community outside the Berne area does not carry this mutation. "This is the only kindred on the planet that has this mutation," Vaughan said. "It's a 'private mutation.'" People with the mutation live to be 85 on average, significantly longer than their predicted average lifespan of 71 for Amish in general and which hasn't changed much over the last century. The age range of Amish in the study was 18 to 85 with the average age of carriers 44 and the unaffected 46 years old. A toddler bumps her head, bleeds too much and almost dies The first Old Order Amish member with an unusual bleeding disorder was found in the early 1990s by Dr. Amy Shapiro, a hematologist at the Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center. Shapiro heard from the local chapter of the Hemophilia Foundation about an Amish girl who had bumped her head when she was three and had unusually severe bleeding from the injury. The toddler required surgery, which triggered more extreme bleeding and necessitated a blood transfusion. She almost died. The girl was nine when Shapiro learned of her, and she became interested in helping the family. The bleeding disorder was identified as a rare disorder due to a deficiency of PAI-1. The mutation was characterized in the laboratory of Dr. David Ginsberg at the University of Michigan and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1992 by Fay et al. The individuals affected with the bleeding disorder had two copies of the mutated gene that led to the absence of PAI-1 in the blood and the resulting bleeding. People who carried one copy of the mutated gene did not have a bleeding disorder. Shapiro tested the parents and siblings of the girl and found more affected individuals. A family tree was drawn to determine who else might be affected. Over time, several hundred members of the extended family tree have been tested with 12 patients identified with the bleeding disorder and many others (about 96) who carried the single changed gene. To date, about 10,000 individuals are included in this family tree spanning many generations. PAI-1 has an important role in the regulation of the part of the human blood clotting system that helps to dissolve clots once formed. When people are missing PAI-1, they have increased breakdown of clots and abnormal bleeding that is associated with heavy menstrual bleeding, bleeding with pregnancy and ovulation, dental work, injury and trauma. When Vaughan read Shapiro's and co-authors' published journal articles on the kindred with the unusual PAI-1 mutation, he immediately wanted to investigate the effect on their cardiovascular function. He eventually broadened his focus to the effects on aging. "That was the gateway that could allow us to investigate the impact of a partial PAI-1 deficiency over a lifetime," Vaughan said. "The work in the lab and the science of aging kept pointing to a relationship between PAI-1 and aging itself," Vaughan said. "We had showed in a previous study in mice that a partial deficiency of PAI-1 protected against aging-like changes. Was that true for human beings, too? Now we had an incredible, unique opportunity to test our hypothesis." He contacted Shapiro, and said he had a hunch that the carriers of the mutation might be protected from aging. And that the members of the kindred with one copy of the changed allele (gene mutation) do not appear to have a bleeding problem or cardiac problems. This suggested to him that giving people a drug that blocks PAI-1 might be safe as long as it provides incomplete inhibition. Arriving by horse and buggy at testing site On May 5, 2015, a caravan of 40 doctors, nurses, sonographers and other health care workers drove to Berne before dawn and set up 10 testing stations in a nearby community center. Over the following two days, 177 Amish arrived by horse and buggy for testing, half on each day. It took an entire day for each person to go through all the testing stations that included: fasting blood samples, echocardiograms, systolic blood pressure testing, pulse wave velocity (a measure of stiffness of their large arteries), pulmonary function tests and urine samples. Scientists took fibroblasts (cells) and grew stem cells from those cells in order to investigate the impact of the mutation on cell biology. Scientists can turn those cells into neurons, cardiac cells or any type of cell and investigate the impact of this genetic alteration on important biology. Why did so many of the kindred agree to participate in the study? "They are curious about the mutation because they know some of them have a bleeding problem," Vaughan said. Northwestern collaborated with the Indiana hematologists to work with the Amish. Through the work with Northwestern and Vaughan, scientists found the individuals with two changed PAI-1 genes not only had a bleeding disorder but also had varying degrees of an unusual cardiac disorder that leads to fibrosis (scarring of the heart). One of the affected individuals has died from this complication. Shapiro and colleagues at the Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center treat 11 Amish patients with the double mutation. For bleeding issues, the patients receive a medication that can be taken by either mouth or given intravenously to prevent clots from being dissolved too quickly. There is no treatment for cardiac fibrosis recently identified by the research team. Startup company to develop new class of "longevity" drugs In the U.S., Northwestern is partnering with a Japanese startup company (Renascience) to develop a new class of drugs that specifically target PAI-1. The drugs are the brainchild of Vaughan's collaborator, Dr. Toshio Miyata, who leads a drug discovery program at Tohoku University in northern Japan. Miyata initially contacted Vaughan to use his transgenic models of mice that overexpress human PAI-1. The mice, developed in Vaughan's lab, are bald, have heart attacks and other pathologies caused by an excess of PAI-1. Miyata, a nephrologist, was developing an oral drug to slow the progression of diabetic kidney disease, which is driven in part by PAI-1. Miyata sent the experimental drug to Vaughan, who fed it to his bald mice for six weeks. Vaughan had tested other PAI-1 inhibiting drugs from large pharmaceutical companies, but none of them had worked. "The mice are growing hair" But then Vaughan noticed something. He called Miyata and announced, "The mice are growing hair. Your drug works!" "The impact we saw in those transgenic animals was unmistakable," Vaughan said. "We had been asked to test other PAI-1 inhibitors over the years by big pharma. None of them ever worked. But the first one Toshio sent us worked exquisitely well," Vaughan said. Testing new formula to treat baldness Because of the drug's effect on hair growth in mice, Renascience has licensed a formulation to an American company, Eirion Therapeutics, Inc., that is advancing the development of a topical formula that will be tested for treating male pattern baldness. Phase 2 clinical trial gets green light in Japan In the phase 1 Japanese studies, completed this past summer, the drug was given to about 160 healthy individuals to test its safety. After proving to be safe and nontoxic, the drug is now being tested in a phase 2 trial to see if inhibiting PAI-1 affects the migration of stem cells from the bone marrow. Scientists want to see if giving the PAI-1 inhibitor drug boosts the number of red and white blood cells and platelets of patients who have undergone chemotherapy, which results in low counts. That could reduce complications, which include infections, bleeding and anemia. Since PAI-1 controls the mobilization and release of stem cells from the bone marrow, scientists hypothesize that partial inhibition of PAI-1 will accelerate the recovery of normal cell counts in the blood. Mice lived four times longer on the drug Vaughn's previous research in a 2014 paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed the drug prolonged the lifespan in a mouse model of accelerated aging. In that study, the rapidly aging mice fed the experimental drug lived more than three times longer than a control group, and their lungs and vascular system were protected from aging-like pathology, including emphysema and arteriosclerosis. When cells or tissue age, they lose the ability to regenerate, and they secrete certain proteins, like a distinctive fingerprint. One of those proteins is PAI-1. "We made the intellectual leap between a marker of senescence and physiological aging," Vaughan said. "We asked is this marker for cell aging one of the drivers or mechanisms of rapid physiological aging?" Vaughan first became interested in PAI-1 because it is the natural inhibitor of the body's clot dissolving system. It specifically inhibits the clot-dissolving protein called t-PA, which was developed to treat people having heart attacks and strokes. An earlier formulation of the experimental drug, TM5441, is one of only several chosen each year by the National Institute on Aging to be tested in its Interventions Testing Program, which investigates treatments with the potential to extend lifespan and delay disease in mice. ### Other authors on the paper are co-first authors Dr. Sadiya S. Khan, and Dr. Sanjiv J. Shah, Ekaterina Klyachko, Abigail S. Baldridge, Mesut Eren, Aaron T. Place, Dr. Abraham Aviv, Eli Puterman, Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, Meadow Heiman, Dr. Toshio Miyata, Dr. Sweta Gupta and Dr. Amy D. Shapiro. The research was supported by grant HL51387 from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. More News at Northwestern Now Owaisi today launched a scathing attack on spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for trying to mediate on the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for trying to mediate on the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute. (Photo: File pic | PTI) By Ashish Pandey: Hyderabad MP and All India Muslim Personal Law board (AIMPLB) member Asadduddin Owaisi today launched a scathing attack on spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for trying to mediate on the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid dispute. The Art of Living founder met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at his residence in Lucknow earlier today, before leaving for Ayodhya. Sri Sri would meet all stakeholders with a compromising formula to resolve the Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid matter during his visit to the city. advertisement However, in a setback to Sri Sri's efforts, the All India Shia Personal Law Board said that it will stand by AIMPLB over the Ram Mandir issue. The Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi earlier had a meeting with the spiritual guru in Bengaluru. Rizwi claimed that the Babri Masjid was made on Shia land, hence, the Waqf Board needed to be made a party in the entire issue. Welcoming the statement of the Shia Personal Law Board, Owaisi tweeted, "Ulti hogayee sab tadbeeran". Ulti hogayee Sab tadbeeran https://t.co/aTGeB9V8iD &; Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) November 15, 2017 The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief also took a dig at Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's meeting with a few Sufi clerics on Tuesday over the ongoing dispute. However, a controversy erupted as Ajmer Dargah head Syed Zainul Abedin reportedly denied meeting Singh. That is why i called them "bloody jokers"& as usual 9pm nationalists took umbrage,Qs is even @HMOIndia didn't knew it amazing these are all "2 Rakaat ke Imam"& free loaders https://t.co/rZvPVJ4np9 &; Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) November 15, 2017 ALSO WATCH | Grand Lord Ram Temple will be built in Ayodhya by Diwali next year: Subramanian Swamy --- ENDS --- An investigation of the microbial environment at Laguna La Brava in Chile may suggest that novel microorganisms might be at work in the absence of cyanobacteria, according to a study published November 15, 2017 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Maria Eugenia Farias from Laboratorio de Investigaciones Microbiologicas de Lagunas Andinas, Argentina, and colleagues. Researchers have recently been interested in the role microorganisms play in geological processes. Microbes' metabolic activities alter their microenvironment and can sometimes induce processes such as mineral precipitation and dissolution. To learn more about microbes' interaction with their environment, the authors of the present study investigated the microbial environment of Laguna La Brava, Salar de Atacama in Chile. This lake has microbial communities growing in extreme conditions including high salinity, high solar insolation, and high levels of metals such as lithium, arsenic, magnesium, and calcium. They collected bacterial and water samples from several distinct ecosystems near the lake, including a multi-layered sheet of microorganisms known as a microbial mat, a living rock carbonate structure, and a hard compact mass formed from precipitation, and compared them to each other. The researchers found that Euryarchaeota, Crenarchaeota, Acetothermia, Firmicutes and Planctomycetes were the most abundant bacterial and archael groups. Surprisingly, they found little or no cyanobacteria in any of the ecosystems. Since cyanobacteria are usually an important producer of microbial mats, the authors suggest that there may be other microorganisms that are responsible for precipitating minerals in these ecosystems. Further research at these sites might reveal novel organisms and metabolisms of biotechnological interest. ### In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0186867 Citation: Farias ME, Rasuk MC, Gallagher KL, Contreras M, Kurth D, Fernandez AB, et al. (2017) Prokaryotic diversity and biogeochemical characteristics of benthic microbial ecosystems at La Brava, a hypersaline lake at Salar de Atacama, Chile. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0186867. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186867 Funding: This work was supported by Centro de Ecologia Aplicada Chile and the projects PICT 1788 and PICT 3825 from MinCyT Argentina to MEF. PTV acknowledges support from NASA Exobiology CAN NNX12AD64G. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. To humans, being right-handed or left-handed plays an important role. The majority favours the right side of their bodies, while only about three per cent of people innately use both hands equally well. Preferring one side of the body over another is not unique to humans: the phenomenon occurs in the animal kingdom as well, for instance in great apes or birds, although their "handedness" is typically not as obvious as it is in humans. "Handedness" is particularly pronounced in cichlid fish of the species Perissodus microlepis, which is endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Africa. This cichlid is highly specialised, living exclusively of the scales of other fish that they obtain from one side of the bodies of their prey only. When hunting, not only do individual fish display a pronounced predilection for attacking their prey from one direction; this preference is also mirrored by the shape of their heads: many individuals of this cichlid have asymmetrical jaws that bend to the left or right. Biologists from the University of Konstanz examined the relationship between the cichlids' preference for one side, the structure of their brains and their gene expression. A team led by Professor Axel Meyer, Professor of Zoology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Konstanz, was able to demonstrate that a preference for one side in the animal's feeding behaviour correlates with a corresponding asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres as well as unequal gene expression in the different hemispheres. The research results have been published in the current issue of the science journal Genome Biology and Evolution. "Our research helps us to understand handedness and hemispheric asymmetries better. We hope that our results also will contribute to further our understanding of handedness in humans", explains the Konstanz biologist Dr Ralf Schneider, who, along with Dr Hyuk Je Lee, is one of the lead authors of the study. In their study, the biologists documented the preference for one side of approximately 40 individual cichlids, followed by an examination of their brains. "We found a clear asymmetry across the animals' brains, especially in the Tectum Opticum region of the brain. However, this asymmetry was present only in individuals who displayed a distinct preference for one side when hunting", says Ralf Schneider. The Tectum Opticum is the region in the brain responsible for processing vision. In the respective cichlids, the hemisphere of the Tectum Opticum that controls the eye on the preferred side of the body was more strongly developed than the other. Individuals that did not display a marked preference for one side showed greater symmetry within the Tectum Opticum. The same proved true for other regions of the animals' brains. "This is interesting because it suggests a functional relationship between the shape of the brain and behavioural laterality", says Schneider. Analyses of the genes (gene expression profiling) across several parts of the brain showed which genes tend to be expressed more strongly in the respective regions of the brain. The analyses revealed similar patterns to what the researchers had found in the fishes' brains structures: in the Tectum Opticum region alone, as much as 140 genes showed differing activity in the two hemispheres - corresponding with the animals' preference for one side, gene activity in the respective hemispheres of the brain was increased or decreased. The most pronounced correspondence was determined for the gene synuclein gamma alpha (sncga) - a particularly interesting result because previous studies on zebrafish have shown that this gene is expressed predominantly in the so-called habenula, a part of the brain that is asymmetric in all vertebrates, including humans. Besides synuclein gamma alpha, a range of other genes, some of which are associated with handedness and schizophrenia in humans, showed expression patterns in the brain hemispheres of the cichlids that suggest a link to handedness. There is reason to believe that some asymmetries in the brains of vertebrates could have originated in the habenula's asymmetry. The cichlids' preference for feeding on scales from just one side of their prey's body, as well as the asymmetrical shapes of their heads and brains, probably evolved due to the extremely fast "side-specific" development of gene regulation in their brains, the biologists suggest. ### Original publication: Hyuk Je Lee, Ralf F. Schneider, Tereza Manousaki, Ji Hyoun Kang, Etienne Lein, Paolo Franchini, Axel Meyer. Lateralized Feeding Behavior Comes with Asymmetrical Neuroanatomy and Lateralized Gene Expressions in the Brain in Scale-Eating Cichlid Fish. Genome Biology and Evolution, published online on 24 October 2017 Facts: - Recent publication in Genome Biology and Evolution, published online on 24 October 2017 - Study of "handedness" (behavioural laterality) in the Perissodus microlepius species of African cichlids - Behavioural observations, examinations of their brains as well as gene analyses (gene sequencing) - Participating organisations: University of Konstanz, Sangji University (South Korea), Korea University (South Korea), Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR, Greece) - Funding provided by: German Research Foundation (DFG), Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (South Korea), Young Scholar Fund of the University of Konstanz Note to editors: A selection of pictures is available for download here: https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2017/Bilder/Axel_Meyer_Perissodus%20microlepis_1.jpg Caption: Cichlids of the Perissodus microlepis species endemic to Lake Tanganyika in Africa https://cms.uni-konstanz.de/fileadmin/pi/fileserver/2017/Bilder/Axel_Meyer_Perissodus%20microlepis_2.jpg Caption: Cichlid fry with bent jaw Contact Journal Genome Biology and Evolution DOI 10.1093/gbe/evx218 University of KonstanzCommunications and MarketingPhone: + 49 7531 88-3603E-Mail: kum@uni-konstanz.de While radiation therapy is the most common cancer treatment for children under age 10, preparation for it may cause great stress for a child and his or her family. A child cannot move more than 3 millimeters in any direction during radiation or risk damaging healthy cells near cancerous cells. Pediatric oncologists have routinely sedated children to keep them motionless for the therapy, so a child can't have food or water for up to 12 hours before a session. And therapy sessions are typically scheduled for six days a week, for up to six straight weeks, said Manish Vaidya, associate professor in the University of North Texas Department of Behavior Analysis. "Radiation itself is painless, generally takes less than an hour during a session and doesn't require an overnight hospital stay. But a child may not completely understand why he or she cannot eat or drink before radiation, and that could negatively impact relationships with parents," he said. Vaidya has developed an alternative to anesthesia -- teaching young patients to stay mostly motionless while awake for radiation therapy using motion monitoring. He is part of a research team working on the project, called PROMISE, or Pediatric Radiation Oncology with Movie-Induced Sedation Effect. The research is being funded by a $900,000 grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. Vaidya is working on the project with four faculty members in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and a pediatric psychologist at UT-Southwestern. Vaidya is currently testing PROMISE on healthy children under age 10 in a child friendly laboratory at UNT. The laboratory has colorful displays of the alphabet, solar system and world map on the walls and a bookcase and toy chest filled with toys. As a child lies on a mock treatment table, he or she watches a cartoon projected upward on a ceiling screen. At the same time, a video surveillance system that beams a grid of light on the child monitors his or her motion. The video will display a green traffic light if the child is not moving more than 3 millimeters in any direction. If the child moves too much, the traffic light turns yellow, and the cartoon pauses. If the child continues moving, the traffic light turns red, and the cartoon disappears from the screen. But if the child reverts back to his or her treatment position in a short time, both the green light and the cartoon resume. "The more precisely we can observe behavior of children, the more we can develop applied behavior analysis training to modify that behavior," Vaidya said. "We want to make staying mostly motionless into a game." He notes that in addition to the frequent need for sedation causing stress for children and their families, the anesthesia may have long-term effects on children's cognitive development. "Our goal is to get a child through a therapy session as quickly and as stress-free as possible," Vaidya said. "The total time for receiving radiation therapy is usually no more than 30 minutes, so our focus with healthy children is to create very short testing sessions." Behavior modification to keep children mostly motionless "is a simple solution to make children's lives easier," said Maria Otero, a UNT master's student in behavior analysis who is working with Vaidya on the research. "The idea seemed too logical to not be investigated," she said. ### University of Oregon-led research provides a new interpretation of how one of America's great rivers got linked to the ocean amid tectonic influences and changing sea level EUGENE, Ore. - Nov. 15, 2017 -- The Colorado River's initial trip to the ocean didn't come easy, but its story has emerged from layers of sediment preserved within tectonically active stretches of the waterway's lower reaches. A scientific team, led by geologist Rebecca Dorsey of the University of Oregon, theorizes that the river's route off the Colorado Plateau was influenced by a combination of tectonic deformation and changing sea levels that produced a series of stops and starts between roughly 6.3 and 4.8 million years ago. Dorsey's team lays out its case in an invited-research paper in the journal Sedimentary Geology. The team's interpretation challenges long-held conventional thinking that once a river connects to the ocean it's a done deal. "The birth of the Colorado River was more punctuated and filled with more uneven behavior than we expected," Dorsey said. "We've been trying to figure this out for years. This study is a major synthesis of regional stratigraphy, sedimentology and micropaleontology. By integrating these different datasets we are able to identify the different processes that controlled the birth and early evolution of this iconic river system." The region covered in the research stretches from the southern Bouse Formation, near present-day Blythe, California, to the western Salton Trough north of where the river now trickles into the Gulf of California. The Bouse Formation and deposits in the Salton Trough have similar ages and span both sides of the San Andreas Fault, providing important clues to the river's origins. Last year, in the journal Geology, a project led by graduate student Brennan O'Connell, a co-author on the new study, concluded that laminated sediments found in exposed rock along the river near Blythe were deposited by tidal currents 5.5 million years ago. The Gulf of California, it was argued, extended into the region, but the age of the deposits and tectonic and sea level changes at work during that time were not well understood. Analyses by Kristin McDougall, a micropaleontologist with the U.S. Geological Survey and co-author on the new paper, helped the team better pinpoint the timing of the limestone deposits to about 6 million years ago, when tiny marine organisms lived in the water and were deposited at the same time. About 5.4 million years ago, conditions changed. Global sea level was falling but instead of bay water levels declining, as would be expected, the water depth increased due to tectonic subsidence of the crust, the researchers discovered. The basal carbonate material left by marine organisms was then inundated by fresh water as the river swept down into lower elevations, bringing with it clay and sand from mountain terrain, they found. "The bay filled up with river sediment as the sediment migrated toward the ocean," Dorsey said. "As more sediment came in, transport processes caused the delta front to move down the valley, transforming the marine bay into a delta and then the earliest through-flowing Colorado River." The river had arrived in the gulf, but only temporarily. A tug-of-war lasting for 200,000 to 300,000 years began some 5.1 million years ago, when the river stopped delivering sediments from upstream. The delta retreated and seawater returned to the lower Colorado River valley for a short time. The evidence is in the stratigraphy and fossils. Researchers found that clay and sand from the river became mixed with and then covered by marine sediment. Something, Dorsey said, apparently was happening upstream, trapping river sediment. A good bet, the researchers think, is tectonic activity, perhaps earthquakes along a fault zone in the river's northern basin that created subsidence in the riverbed or deep lakes along the river's path. At roughly 4.8 million years ago, the river resumed depositing massive amounts of sediment back into the Salton Trough and began rebuilding the delta. Today's view of the delta, however, reflects human-made modern disturbances to the river's sediment discharge and flow of water reaching the gulf. To meet agricultural demands for irrigation and drinking water for human consumption, Hoover Dam was constructed on the river to form Lake Mead during the 1930s. In 1956-1966, Glen Canyon Dam was built, forming Lake Powell. "If we could go back to 1900 before the dams that trap the sediment and water, we would see that the delta area was full of channels, islands, sand bars and moving sediment. It was a very diverse, dynamic and rich delta system. But manmade dams are trapping sediment today, eerily similar to what happened roughly 5 million years ago," Dorsey said. The bottom line of the research, she said, is that no single process controlled the Colorado River's initial route to the sea. "Different processes interacted in a surprisingly complicated sequence of events that led to the final integration of that river out to the ocean," she said. The research, Dorsey said, provides insights that help scientists understand how such systems change through time. The Colorado River is an excellent natural laboratory, she said, because sedimentary deposits that formed prior to and during river initiation are well exposed throughout the lower river valley. "This research," Dorsey said, "is very relevant to today because we have global sea level rising, climate is warming, coastlines are being inundated and submerged, and the supply of river sediment exerts a critical control on the fate of deltas where they meet the ocean. Documenting the complex interaction of these processes in the past helps us understand what is happening today." ### Mindy B. Homan, a former UO doctoral student and now a geologist with Devon Energy in Wyoming, was a co-author on the study. The National Science Foundation (grant EAR-1546006), Society for Sedimentary Geology and Geological Society of America supported the research. Source: Rebecca Dorsey, professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, 541-346-4431, rdorsey@uoregon.edu Note: The UO is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. There also is video access to satellite uplink and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews. Links: Paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0037073817302099 About Dorsey: http://pages.uoregon.edu/rdorsey/rjd.html Department of Earth Sciences: http://earthsciences.uoregon.edu/ News release on the 2016 Geology paper: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/uoo-rlp120816.php 2016 Geology paper: http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/early/2016/12/08/G38608.1.abstract?papetoc Physicists hunting for dark matter in the universe have been sent 'back to the drawing board' after a new University of Sussex study has ruled out the existence of a sought-after particle in a wide range of masses. Scientists at the University of Sussex have disproved the existence of a specific type of axion - an important candidate 'dark matter' particle - across a wide range of its possible masses. The data were collected by an international consortium, the Neutron Electric Dipole Moment (nEDM) Collaboration, whose experiment is based at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland. Data were taken there and, earlier, at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble. Professor Philip Harris, Head of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Sussex, and head of the nEDM group there, said: "Experts largely agree that a major portion of the mass in the universe consists of 'dark matter'. Its nature, however, remains completely obscure. One kind of hypothetical elementary particle that might make up the dark matter is the so-called axion. If axions with the right properties exist it would be possible to detect their presence through this entirely novel analysis of our data. "We've analysed the measurements we took in France and Switzerland and they provide evidence that axions - at least the kind that would have been observable in the experiment - do not exist. These results are a thousand times more sensitive than previous ones and they are based on laboratory measurements rather than astronomical observations. This does not fundamentally rule out the existence of axions, but the scope of characteristics that these particles could have is now distinctly limited. "The results essentially send physicists back to the drawing board in our hunt for dark matter." It has been believed for decades that axion particles might make up at least some of 'dark matter' - the stuff that we know is in our universe but which cannot be seen. Axions are important because finding them, if they exist, could hold the key to why the universe has lots of matter but relatively little antimatter. Equal amounts of matter and antimatter would have been created when the universe began, and it should all have mutually annihilated, but the Universe clearly now has plenty of matter - but essentially no antimatter - left over; we do not understand why. This is the first experiment to use laboratory equipment - rather than astronomical observations - to investigate this type of axion. Previously, physicists had been gradually narrowing the range of possible masses of the axion through telescope-based experiments. The research published today wipes out a whole swathe of potential masses. As a result, particle theorists attempting to explain the origins of the Universe and the nature of dark matter will have to go back to the drawing board as they revise, constrain and tune their models. An important benchmark has been set for future experimental searches; and other experiments, working in related topics, will be able to analyse their data in this new way to extend the sensitivity further. The data were collected for another purpose - to look at why the universe is dominated by matter and not antimatter - when it was realised that the measurements could be used to search for the presence of axions too. The experiment worked by trapping neutrons, then applying a high voltage to their container to see whether it affected the rate at which they spin. A change in this rate would indicate that they have a distorted structure - and changes in that distortion over time (from minutes to years) would indicate that there were axions present. No such distortions were seen, and therefore no axions were detected. The nEDM experiment itself is a "classic" in particle physics, having run in one form or another with ever-increasing sensitivity since 1950, and ruling out many theories along the way. It is one of the most sensitive measurements that it is possible to make, and Sussex-led measurements have provided the world's best sensitivity continously since 1999. Nicholas Ayres, a graduate student in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the University of Sussex and co-leader of this particular analysis, said: "These results open a new front in the hunt for dark matter. They disprove the existence of axions with a wide range of masses and therefore help to limit the variety of particles which could be candidates for dark matter. And it's fantastic to see that these results - which were being collected for another purpose entirely - could be used as a piggyback to search for axions too." Professor Philip Harris explains how the data could be used to search for axions as well as for its original intended purpose: "In our original experiment we took a single measurement and repeated it many times to determine the average value over a long time. When we're searching for axions, we watch for whether the measurement fluctuates over time with a constant frequency. If so, it would be proof that there had been some interaction between the neutron and the axion. We never saw that. " The experiment does not rule out the existence of axions entirely. Firstly, the axions would need to have interacted strongly enough with the neutrons for any change in its rotation rate to be spotted. Secondly, their mass might either be larger or smaller than expected. It does, however, provide important new constraints, and it points the way forward to future avenues of investigation to help resolve one of cosmology's great outstanding mysteries. These experiments make an important contribution to the search for dark matter. ### Notes to editors The paper "Search for Axionlike Dark Matter through Nuclear Spin Precession in Electric and Magnetic Fields" is published in Physical Review X today, and has been selected as an Editor's Choice: https://journals.aps.org/prx/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevX.7.041034 Revisions to major international guidelines for the management and treatment of low back pain should see changes to practice worldwide. If you visit your family doctor with low back pain (LBP), you may be surprised at the treatment options they suggest now. Recent changes to major international guidelines for the management of LBP mean that general practitioners (GP) are now unlikely to recommend pain medicines which were previously the go-to treatment. Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. It is the second most common reason for seeking care from a family doctor. In Australia, low back pain is the number one cause of early retirement and income poverty. The new guidelines - the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence clinical guideline for low-back pain and sciatica, and a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians - encourage a shift in thinking about the primary care management of low-back pain. In response to an escalating prescription opioid crisis, and an overwhelming amount of research showing most pain medicines have little to no effect compared to placebo for people with LBP, the guidelines have radically changed their stance on the medicines. Instead of pain medicines, GPs might suggest non-medicinal approaches including yoga, mindfulness and various types of physiotherapy and psychological therapies. The results of a University of Sydney review to investigate the current approach and changes to diagnosis and management of LBP were published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. "Until now, the recommended approach to help LBP in general practice was to prescribe simple pain medicines such as paracetamol or anti-inflammatories," said lead author Dr Adrian Traeger, researcher from the Musculoskeletal Health Group at the University's School of Public Health. "These new guidelines suggest avoiding pain medicines initially and discouraging other invasive treatments such as injections and surgery. The recent changes to these guidelines are important and represent a substantial change in thinking on how best to manage LBP - the previous recommendations were in place for decades. "If you have an uncomplicated case of recent-onset LBP, your doctor may now simply provide advice on how to remain active and non-drug methods for pain relief such as heat and massage, and arrange to see you in two weeks to make sure the pain has settled. "If your pain started a long time ago, they might suggest treatments such as yoga, exercise or mindfulness as treatment. Other effective options could include spinal manipulation, acupuncture, or multi-disciplinary rehabilitation programs. "These revisions to major international guidelines should see changes to practice worldwide. However Dr Traeger is concerned that without support from Medicare the suggested reforms could place additional financial strain on those suffering from low back pain. "There will be challenges to providing this type of care. It's currently much easier and cheaper to provide a prescription for an opioid pain medicine (which is not a long-term solution to chronic pain and carries a risk of substantial harm) than a course of treatment with a physiotherapist or psychologist. "Health systems in most industrialised countries, including Australian Medicare, are simply not set up to fund the care that is considered the most appropriate for low back pain right now. "Without policy changes, it will be difficult for GPs to follow current best practice. However, if Medicare were to make simple changes to improve affordability of alternatives to pain medicines, not only would it make a GPs job easier, it could result a major impact on the lives of many living with low back pain, including those who rely on opioids. This needs the attention of the Federal Government." ### Scientists typically make every effort to keep all factors but one constant when doing an experiment. Global-change scientists might move a coral from a reef to an aquarium whose water is held 1C higher to test the effects of the ocean warming predicted for the end of the century. Or they might decrease the water's pH by 0.4 units to study the effects of ocean acidification. But a new review article presents evidence that argues for a more nuanced approach to the design of these experiments--one that acknowledges and purposefully incorporates the variability inherent in nature. The article, in the latest issue of Current Climate Change Reports, focuses on studies examining how ocean warming and acidification might affect corals and coralline algae. Lead author Emily Rivest of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science says its findings are also likely applicable to other foundational reef species such as oysters. "The range of pH and temperature that some organisms experience on a daily basis exceeds the changes we expect to see in the global ocean by the end of the century," notes Rivest, an assistant professor at VIMS. "But we don't really know how this variability affects their physiology and their ability to respond to future change. The papers we reviewed suggest this variability is important, and we need to incorporate it into our experiments." Indeed, there's a growing consensus that the degree of variability in temperature and pH an organism faces in its current environment will likely influence its response to future warming and acidification. For instance, a coral growing in a back-reef lagoon--whose restricted waters may warm drastically each afternoon under the blazing sun--may be less susceptible to long-term warming than a coral growing in the more open, temperate waters of the reef face. The same may hold true for entire species or populations of warmth-adapted corals. In their paper, Rivest and co-authors Steeve Comeau and Christopher Cornwall of the University of Western Australia reviewed almost 100 studies of how predicted changes in ocean pH or temperature might affect coral growth. But their review found only a "handful" of the studies had purposefully varied these factors, or examined the importance of natural variability to the performance of reef organisms. The experiments that incorporated variability fell into two categories. "One type was studies where you collect corals from a high-variability site and a low-variability site and see how they do under controlled laboratory conditions," says Rivest. "If the variability is important in shaping their response to environmental change, then their response will depend on the site they are from." The second type "looked at the variability within laboratory treatments--taking corals into the lab and raising them under constant or variable conditions, then providing them with an additional stress and seeing if the variability they experienced in the lab influences their response to that stress." Rivest and her colleagues found that incorporating variability into an experiment's design produced ambiguous and intriguing results. "Corals from habitats with more temperature variability generally exhibit greater thermotolerance," says Rivest, "but the effects of past pH variability are less clear." On the other hand, she says, "In laboratory studies, pH variability often limited the effects of ocean acidification, but the effects of temperature variability on responses to warming were equivocal." Rivest, Comeau, and Cornwall say their findings warrant additional research. "We want our paper to signal the start of a new era in studies of how climate change affects foundation species," says Rivest. "We really need to consider an animal's current environment as a starting point for how it will respond in the future--we want this to be a point of discussion in our field, for how we should be designing experiments and thinking about these questions moving forward." The team says their findings could also lead to practical applications. "If we know better how environmental variability affects the ability of animals to tolerate future environmental change, then we can think about it in a restoration and conservation context," says Rivest. "For example, if you target a reef for restoration, we could start a training program for corals where you culture them in the lab under variable conditions so they would be ready to perform well out in the reef environment." This approach is already being applied at the Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and other research labs worldwide. Rivest led one of the field studies included in the recent review article--in which she compared corals from the warm waters of French Polynesia to the cooler waters of Taiwan--and now has plans to extend that research to different animals and waters near her new home on the U.S. East Coast. She joined the faculty of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point in 2016. "I think of oysters as the corals of Chesapeake Bay," says Rivest. "They provide similar benefits in that they create a three-dimensional habitat that supports other species. And the variability in pH and temperature in the Bay is even more dramatic than we see in a lot of coral reefs. So I plan on asking the same types of questions here. There's a lot we can learn about how oysters will respond to future environmental changes just by surveying the natural environmental gradients they face in the Bay right now." She also plans to begin a series of laboratory studies. "I haven't had the ability to easily manipulate the variability of temperature and pH in the lab yet," says Rivest, "but the aquarium system I'm building here will allow me to do that." She's constructing the system in the Seawater Research Lab at VIMS, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the nation. ### Rivest and colleagues at VIMS have also begun to put her findings to practical use, employing a recent Sea Grant award to better understand how oyster breeders and growers can improve aquaculture productivity by enhancing the conditions oyster larvae experience in the hatchery. Partners in this work include Auburn University, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Cherrystone Aquafarms, Oyster Seed Holdings, Ward Oyster Company, JC Walker Brothers, and KCB Oyster Holdings. Worcester, Mass. - A researcher at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is using computer science to help fight the growing problem of crowdturfing--a troublesome phenomenon in which masses of online workers are paid to post phony reviews, circulate malicious tweets, and even spread fake news. Funded by a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, assistant professor Kyumin Lee has developed algorithms that have proven highly accurate in detecting fake "likes" and followers across various platforms like Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter. Crowdturfing (a term that combines crowdsourcing and astroturf, a fake grass) is like an online black market for false information. Its consequences can be dangerous, including customers buying products that don't live up to their artificially inflated reviews, malicious information being pushed out in fake tweets and posts, and even elections swayed by concerted disinformation campaigns. "We don't know what is real and what is coming from people paid to post phony or malicious information," said Lee, a pioneer in battling crowdturfing who said the problem can undermine the credibility of the Internet, leaving people feeling unsure about how much they can trust what they see even on their favorite websites. "We believe less than we used to believe," he said. "That's because the amount of fake information people see has been increasing. They're manipulating our information, whether it's a product review or fake news. My goal is to reveal a whole ecosystem of crowdturfing. Who are the workers performing these tasks? What websites are they targeting? What are they falsely promoting?" Lee, who joined WPI in July, focuses first on crowdsourcing sites like Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online marketplace where anyone can recruit workers to complete tasks for pay. While most of the tasks are legitimate, the sites have also been used to recruit people to help with crowdturfing campaigns. Some crowdsourcing sites try to weed out such illegitimate tasks, but others don't. And the phony or malicious tasks can be quite popular, as they usually pay better than legitimate ones. Using machine learning and predictive modeling, Lee builds algorithms that sift through the posted tasks looking for patterns that his research has shown are associated with these illegitimate tasks: for example, higher hourly wages or jobs that involve manipulating or posting information on particular websites or clicking on certain kinds of links. The algorithm can identify the malicious organizations posting the tasks, the websites the crowdturfers are told to target, and even the workers who are signing up to complete the tasks. Looking next at the targeted websites, the predictive algorithms can gauge the probability that new users are, in fact, there to carry out assigned crowdturfing tasks--for example "liking" content on social media sites or "following" certain social media users. In Lee's research, the algorithms have detected fake likes with 90 percent accuracy and fake followers with 99 percent accuracy. While he hasn't specifically researched fake news, Lee said bots are not the only things pushing out propaganda and misleading stories online. People can easily be hired on crowdsourcing sites to spread fake news articles, increasing their reach and malicious intent. "The algorithm will potentially prevent future crowdturfing because you can predict what users will be doing," he added. "Hopefully, companies can apply these algorithms to filter malicious users and malicious content out of their systems in real time. It will make their sites more credible. It's all about what information we can trust and improving the trustworthiness of cyberspace." Lee's work is funded by his five-year, $516,000 NSF CAREER Award, which he received in 2016 while at Utah State University. In addition, in 2013 he was one of only 150 professors in the United States to receive a Google Faculty Research Award; that $43,295 award also supports his crowdturfing research. Before turning his attention to crowdturfing, Lee conducted research on spam detection. One of his next goals is to adapt his algorithms to detect both spam and crowdturfing. He said crowdturfing is more difficult to detect because, for example, a review of a new product can look legitimate, even if it's been bought and paid for. "The ideal solution is one method that can detect all of these problems at once," he said. "We can build a universal tool that can detect all kinds of malicious users. That's my future work." Lee added that he expects to make his algorithms openly available to companies and organizations, which could tailor them to their specific needs. "I expect to share the data set so people can come up with a better algorithm, adapted for their specific organization," he said. "When they read our papers, they can understand how this works and implement their own system." Lee has been assisted in his research by WPI computer science graduate students Thanh Tran and Nguyen Vo. ### About Worcester Polytechnic Institute Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Projects Program. There are more than 40 WPI project centers throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe. By PTI: (Eds: Adds comments of Muslim leaders, VHP etc.) Lucknow, Nov 15 (PTI) Having offered to mediate in the Ayodhya dispute, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar today met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath but said he had no proposal yet to discuss with the stakeholders. Ravi Shankar, who is scheduled to visit Ayodhya tomorrow, had a 40-minute meeting with Adityanath at his official residence where the two were believed to have discussed the issue. advertisement His offer for mediating in the dispute has received a tepid and skeptical response from key protagonists on both sides, with the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) voicing reservations about his role. In an informal interaction with journalists after meeting Adityanath, he said,"I want unity...I want amity. This is just a beginning. We will talk to all." When his attention was drawn to comments by some Muslim leaders rejecting his proposal to resolve the dispute, Ravi Shankar said he had no proposal at the moment so any question of rejection does not arise. "Neither I have given any proposal nor have I got it from anyone," he said. A top official described the meeting between Ravi Shankar and Adityanath as "good". "As far as the Ayodhya issue is concerned, the chief ministers stand is very clear. The state government is not a party (to the dispute). We welcome any settlement and will honour the decision of the court," he said. Ravi Shankar met Suresh Das of Digambar Akhada, Janmejay Sharan of Rasikpeeth and Rajaram Chandra Acharya of Nirmohi Akahada today, apparently to explore ways for a reconciliation between the warring parties locked in a protracted legal dispute over the land on which the Babri mosque stood before being pulled down in 1992. The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court. Speaking on the issue in the national capital, Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik said, "This (mediation) kind of effort is being made by those who believe it will help resolve the issue at the earliest. I wish their efforts bear fruit. But the apex courts final verdict will be binding." Gautam Vig, a representative of the Art of Living founder said Ravi Shankar was listening to both Hindus and Muslims but no formula has been worked out yet. "The Hindu side is very positive, the Muslim side is very positive," Vig said. advertisement The VHP and AIMPLB have, however, rejected the relevance of mediation efforts by Ravi Shankar. "It is being said that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar is talking to all the stakeholders in the case but he has not yet contacted the top leadership of All India Muslim Personal Law Board which is leading the Muslim side," AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Wali Rehmani said. He said Ravi Shankar had made a similar move to resolve the dispute some 12 years ago and concluded that the disputed site be handed over to Hindus. "What new formula he has found this time should be told," Rehmani said. The VHP too appeared dismissive, saying no dialogue on the issue was needed as courts go by evidence and archaeological evidence was in favour of Hindus. "There is no relevance of the (recent) clamour for agreement over Ram Janmabhoomi after the archaeological evidences in this regard have been found to be in favour of Hindus... the courts go by evidence," regional spokesman for the VHP Sharad Sharma said in a statement. He said ever since the Supreme Court suggested an out of court settlement of the issue, some people who made no contribution to the temple movement had become active. advertisement A bench headed by the then Chief Justice J S Khehar had said in March this year that such religious issues can be resolved through negotiations and offered to mediate to arrive at an amicable settlement. "These are issues of religion and sentiments. These are issues where all the parties can sit together and arrive at a consensual decision to end the dispute. All of you may sit together and hold a cordial meeting," the court had said. The states Shia Waqf Board, which has impleaded itself in the case, has been siding with the Hindu parties to the case, with its chairman Wasim Rizvi saying no new mosque should be built in either Ayodhya or neighbouring Faizabad as part of the formula mooted by it to resolve the dispute. He said since the Babri mosque was a Shia shrine, the board will identify a piece of land in a Muslim-dominated area for it and inform the government. PTI NAV ABN SAB SK SK --- ENDS --- Welcome to the News Release Wire Selection Control Panel. Instant News Wire From: American Evaluation Association (AEA) For Immediate Release: Dateline: Washington , DC Wednesday, November 15, 2017 Monique Liston, Chief Strategic Officer at Ubuntu Research and Evaluation. I am a race liberation strategist and evaluator based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As 2016 came to a close, I found myself at a professional crossroads, nearing the end of writing my dissertation and reevaluating my work prospects. I reached out to several friends and colleagues who have always held my professional identity in high regard to contemplate my next moves. Many people offered ideas of positions within institutions such as universities, foundations, or nonprofits that would be opening soon or could possibly be created to nurture my skill set. However, the timing for these opportunities did not coincide with my needs. I took a leap of faith and decided to build my own consulting firm. I decided that three hot tips for supporting a space for Black women to direct and design evaluation. Hot Tips: Meditate on Dr. Vincent J. Hardings The Vocation of the Black Scholar. There are many Black women who have written about the unique contributions that Black scholars provide to scholastic endeavors. However, Hardings article very clears out the tensions that reside between Black liberation ideologies and the work of scholars in the academy. As evaluators, we have a responsibility to consider how we can uplift beloved community through our evaluation practice. Embed written reflection during every formal opportunity.We know that Black womens voices are often marginalized in professional spaces. Joan Morgan explains one of the reasons this happens, particularly around practitioners is because of the superwoman complex. Black women, being too busy doing, and not spending enough time processing their work through written reflection. To combat that, all of us at Ubuntu are responsible for writing monthly for our blog. Build intentional spaces for decompression.Last, but of course, not least, we spend considerable time in our meeting spaces for decompression. We do verbal, written, and artistic check-ins to support one another. We allow others to witness our intentionality around decompressing white supremacist thinking, microaggressions, and misogynoir. We develop a short decompression guide for laughs but it holds significant truths to the way we work at Ubuntu! A year later, I am reflecting on what this organization The American Evaluation Association is celebrating Milwaukee Evaluation! Week with our colleagues in the Wisconsin statewide AEA Affiliate. The contributions all this week to aea365 come from our Milwaukee Evaluation! members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the About AEA The American Evaluation Association is an international professional association and the largest in its field. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEAs mission is to improve evaluation practices and methods worldwide, to increase evaluation use, promote evaluation as a profession and support the contribution of evaluation to the generation of theory and knowledge about effective human action. For more information about AEA, visit www.eval.org. Hi! My name is, Chief Strategic Officer at Ubuntu Research and Evaluation. I am a race liberation strategist and evaluator based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As 2016 came to a close, I found myself at a professional crossroads, nearing the end of writing my dissertation and reevaluating my work prospects. I reached out to several friends and colleagues who have always held my professional identity in high regard to contemplate my next moves. Many people offered ideas of positions within institutions such as universities, foundations, or nonprofits that would be opening soon or could possibly be created to nurture my skill set.However, the timing for these opportunities did not coincide with my needs. I took a leap of faith and decided to build my own consulting firm. I decided that I wanted to build a space for research and evaluation that celebrated Black Women as having unique professional skillsets, being knowledge creators celebrating what Patricia Hill Collins termed Afrocentric Feminist Epistemology, and deserving to be compensated fully for what they bring to the table. Here arefor supporting a space for Black women to direct and design evaluation.A year later, I am reflecting on what this organization Ubuntu Research and Evaluation has become. We are freedom fighters for hire. We use frameworks of Building Beloved Community and Black Liberation to define our work. We are serving as an intellectual vanguard for evaluating programs and projects that aim to improve the outcomes of Black children and families.The American Evaluation Association is celebrating with our colleagues in theThe contributions all this week to aea365 come from our members. Do you have questions, concerns, kudos, or content to extend this aea365 contribution? Please add them in the comments section for this post on the aea365 webpage so that we may enrich our community of practice. Would you like to submit an aea365 Tip? Please send a note of interest to aea365@eval.org. aea365 is sponsored by the American Evaluation Association and provides a Tip-a-Day by and for evaluators. Its my first time hosting Thanksgiving, but Im not sure when I should start thawing the turkey or even how to thaw it what do I do? If you are planning to cook a frozen turkey this year for the Thanksgiving holiday, you need to make sure that you thaw and cook it safely to help your guests avoid developing foodborne illnesses. There are three safe ways to thaw a frozen turkey: in the refrigerator, in a container of cold water, or in a microwave, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service. Following safe thawing methods for turkey is necessary to prevent the potential growth of bacterial pathogens that may have been present on the bird before it was frozen, USDA says. And while there are three ways to safely thaw your bird, USDA recommends thawing it in the refrigerator as the best method because it allows the turkey to thaw in a controlled environment out of the temperature danger zone between 40 and 140 degrees where bacteria can multiply rapidly. Turkeys thawed in the refrigerator take one day for each 4-5 pounds of weight. So, for example, if your turkey weighs 12 pounds, it can take three days to thaw. But, once thawed, you should cook the turkey within two days to ensure safety. If you find yourself needing to thaw the turkey using a faster method, you can place it in a container or sink and submerge it in cold water. Its important that the turkey stay cold, so you need to ensure that the turkey is completely submerged in cold water by replacing the water with fresh cold water every 30 minutes. Turkeys thawed using this method will need 30 minutes of defrosting time per pound. Also, keep the turkey in its original wrapping while thawing, USDA advises, and consider a secondary container to catch juices and condensation as the bird defrosts. If you want to thaw your turkey in the microwave, you will need to take it out of its packaging and place it on a microwave-safe dish. Use the defrost function based on the turkeys weight, USDA says. Generally, allow six minutes per pound to thaw. Once the turkey has thawed, you should cook it immediately. Other safe turkey tips from USDA: Dont wash your turkey! Why? Because bacterial pathogens, which can be present both on the inside and outside of a raw turkey, cannot be washed off. The only way to destroy this potentially dangerous bacterium is to cook the turkey to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Washing your turkey or other raw poultry will increase the chance that you spray pathogens over other parts of your kitchen, potentially contaminating your cooking area and sink. Use a meat thermometer to check the temperature of your cooked turkey and make sure it reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You should insert the thermometer into three areas of the turkey to measure its internal temperature: in the thickest part of the turkey breast, in the innermost part of the wing and in the innermost part of the turkey thigh. Refrigerate your Thanksgiving leftovers within one hour of eating to prevent any pathogens that can cause foodborne illnesses from growing. Happy Turkey Day! Chow Line is a service of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and its outreach and research arms, OSU Extension and the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. Send questions to Chow Line, c/o Tracy Turner, 364 W. Lane Ave., Suite B120, Columbus, OH 43201, or turner.490@osu.edu. Editors Note: This column was edited by Abigail Snyder, an assistant professor and food safety field specialist for CFAES Related Content Growers will be selling British cauliflowers this winter thanks to the ideal weather conditions in the coastal areas of Cornwall. Grown against the most picturesque backdrop on Cornish cliffs, growers have found that by planting the UKs most popular veg as closely to the coast as possible, it allows the sea to warm the air and ensure the cauliflowers dont encounter frost damage. In summer, cauliflowers usually take 16 weeks to grow, however during the frostier months, the veg needs up to 40 weeks to reach its peak quality and ensure growers harvest the best quality heads. The scenic growing methods enable the growers to supply quality British cauliflowers all year round, even throughout the frosty winter months when cauliflower is typically sourced from Spain. During frostier months, the veg needs up to 40 weeks to reach its peak quality Listed in the nations top 25 favourite fruit and veg, retailer Asda has seen the demand for cauliflowers increase as more Brits consider it as a go-to, low-carb alternative. This year, Asda has predicted the sale of almost 9.5 million cauliflowers 3.8% more heads than 2016. Tom Simmons, cauliflower grower, comments: Cornwall offers us the ideal growing location for caulis, as the proximity to the coast means we can produce better quality veg, unblemished by frost that hits the rest of the nations growing areas. With the demand for quality caulis year-round growing, the cliffs of Hayle are the perfect growing location because of the optimum weather patterns the location offers. Were now harvesting around half a million of them each week, ensuring the nation has British-grown, high quality, flavoursome cauliflowers for any meal throughout winter. The Shiromani Akali Dal termed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Chandigarh a sinister media stunt staged with the sole purpose of befooling the people of Delhi, Punjab and the rest of the country. By Mail Today Bureau: The political bickering between the leaderships of three states - Punjab, Haryana and Delhi - over pollution intensified on Wednesday. The Shiromani Akali Dal termed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Chandigarh a sinister media stunt staged with the sole purpose of fooling the people of Delhi, Punjab and the rest of the country. The SAD said the visit was a flop show as it did not yield anything. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal held parleys with Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar over pollution in Delhi. advertisement SAD leader Parminder Singh Dhindsa said the AAP chief was in the habit of inventing a make-belief solution to the problems faced by people of Delhi. "Last year, he came up with the odd-even scheme and spent crore (sic) of rupees on a media blitz to take political mileage of the same. This year, he has come up with the idea of meeting the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab with the sole purpose of flogging these meetings as an achievement," he said. "All Kejriwal could say after meeting his Haryana counterpart was that concern had been expressed. Kejriwal could have expressed this on the phone, but chose to indulge in cheap publicity even though he knew the talks would not have any outcome," he said. Dhindsa said stubble burning alone was not responsible for the smog situation in Delhi. "The truth is that Kejriwal has failed to check vehicular pollution, and is now trying to blame the farmers of Punjab and Haryana . If the Delhi CM is serious, he should provide financial assistance to the neighbouring states to tackle stubble burning." Agriculture equipment and establishment of bio-mass plants can provide a lasting solution to utilise paddy straw, he said. Meanwhile, Kejriwal met Khattar at Chandigarh and the latter, reportedly, said, "Let's not politicise this issue. It relates to the capital of the country and it's everyone's responsibility to give fresh air to our kids." Khattar gave Kejriwal a presentation on how the Haryana government reduced stubble burning by 40 per cent. Also, details of the latest agricultural management equipment and technologies were detailed out to Kejriwal. Khattar said, "We have sought a sum of Rs 1,600 crore from the Centre to subsidise equipments to farmers." The Delhi CM also raised the issue of dirty Yamuna water coming from Haryana. --- ENDS --- Cornwall county council has asked the government for special permission to implement area-specific migration laws because of a drain on labour. The South West county voted to leave the European Union in last year's referendum by more than 56 per cent, which was above the national average. The area is home to 17,000 EU nationals, making up 3 per cent of the county's population, and are mainly employed in industries such as food and agriculture. But new research by the council shows that Cornish farms are already unable to fully harvest crops this year due to a sharp fall in migrant labour. It found changes to migration laws after Brexit could lead to multi-million pound losses to the Cornish economy if the horticultural industry cant access the skills and workforce it needs. The research found that following the Brexit vote, recruitment immediately became more difficult for horticultural farms, harvests could not be lifted in full and staffing requirements were already dwindling to 65% of need. The research also found no evidence that migrant labour displacing the local workforce. The stark warning follows news that Minette Batters, deputy president of the National Farmers' Union, demanded urgent action on seasonal labour decline. She said that "food is rotting in the fields and still we see no action". 'Finished' David Simmons of Riviera Produce, one of the biggest producers in Cornwall has predicted dire impacts. He said the Cornish industry could be "finished". If we put strict limits on Eastern European migrant labour or devise alternative immigration policies that limit so-called low-skilled labour, the Cornish horticultural industry is finished, Mr Simmons explained. Council Leader Adam Paynter called for Government to take a place-based approach to future migration and workforce. He said: Many of our major industries such as horticulture could be severely impacted and are already feeling the pinch with some of our crops rotting in the fields following a sharp fall in the number of EU workers. We are working with local partners to improve skills and employment for local people, but there will always be an important place in the Cornish economy for seasonal and migrant workers, particularly in the horticultural industry. We are calling on the Government to take a place-based approach to future migration, to make sure that the Cornish economy has access to skills which may not be highly valued in London but which are vital to a major rural economy like ours. Sandra Rothwell, chief executive of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership said: What this study demonstrates is that there are parts of the Cornish economy that are heavily reliant on migrant labour and that any emerging policy on movement of EU nationals must take this into account. We cannot afford a one-size fits all solution or the continued uncertainty that has already started to blight the labour market. Solutions The UK farming industry has constantly raised concerns over the increasing lack of migrant labour, which is affecting the ability for some farm businesses to survive. Last week, the Association of Labour Providers said the farming industry will see a "complete train wreck" of a season next year if worker shortage continues to decline. But farmer Tim Chambers, who runs fruit and vegetable farm W.B.Chambers & Son in Kent and voted for Brexit, argued that farmers could attract labour from outside of the EU, from countries such as Ukraine and Belarus. He told The Daily Express: I am very positive. I did not vote for my business, I voted for the greater good of the country. The workforce can come from outside of Europe. The rest of Europe has a labour shortage. Other countries in Europe are already solving that by bringing in workers from Ukraine and Belorussian. Prominent politicians have also called for British people to fill roles vacated by EU workers after Brexit. A Conservative MP has said young Brits should "get on their bikes" and take farming jobs to alleviate the shortage of migrant labour post-Brexit. Ukip has also said British students could provide labour for fresh produce industry to help cut migration. Prime Minister Theresa May has even suggested a seasonal agricultural workers scheme could be reintroduced after Brexit. A new agri-environment scheme with a strong focus on soil health will lie at the heart of new agricultural policy post-Brexit, farming minister George Eustice has announced. The Defra minister announced the rare insights into government thinking on post-Brexit agricultural policy at the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) autumn conference on Tuesday (14 November). He said a new agri-environment scheme must be "new and simple", which rewards every farmer for their work towards achieving a better, more green environment. Mr Eustice said: If we ensure farmers have a fair share of the value in the supply chain and if we help support farmers to invest to make themselves more profitable, we will come out at the end of this with a much more successful, much more vibrant industry which no longer feels it is dependent on having a single farm payment. If we get that right, I think a lot of other things take care of themselves. If we improve the health and the fertility of our soils, you can improve water quality, you can help address issues such as climate change and you can reduce fertiliser use. Defra are seeking to move away from the current subsidy system for farmers, which is based on the amount of land owned or farmed. Defra Secretary Michael Gove has said that the "lion's share" of farm subsidies after Brexit should go to support environmental work. The plans haven't been without criticism. Inventor Sir James Dyson, who received 1.6m from EU farm subsidies last year, said Mr Gove's plans will leave UK farmers at a disadvantage. An Agriculture Bill setting out more detailed plans is to be published early next year. The NFU has submitted six key asks ahead of the Autumn Budget next week, including a plea for the roll-out of superfast broadband and emerging technologies such as robotics. With one week until the Chancellor announces his forthcoming Budget (22 November), the NFU has highlighted the importance of improved fiscal measures required to ensure British farming stays productive. The uncertainty as to what the economic and political landscape will look like in the aftermath of any Brexit settlement is poised to make the Autumn Budget seem a critical step towards a degree of certainty. Carl Emmerson of the Institute For Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the Chancellor is in a "very difficult position" as "increasingly intense" political pressures are urging him to spend more. The farming industry has also put increased pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to show support as it wrestles with mounting concerns. 'Stable and certain' In its letter to Mr Hammond, NFU President Meurig Raymond wrote of the need for government to deliver a new domestic agricultural policy with the environment, farm productivity and volatility mitigation at its heart. The letter also sets out a number of key fiscal recommendations for a "stable and certain" fiscal environment which encourages investment in farm businesses. The NFUs submission to the Chancellor contains six propositions. It calls for the need for the introduction of a Farm Infrastructure Allowance to provide relief for the depreciation cost of farm infrastructure over its useful economic lifespan. The union also states that an exemption for agricultural buildings from any new system of Community Infrastructure Levy or Local Infrastructure Tariff contributions is needed to avoid a further decline of farm investment. The letter goes on to urge for an improved capital allowances regime to encourage the adoption of a wider range of new technologies as a means of improving productivity. Superfast broadband The issue of superfast broadband was touched upon by Mr Raymond. Government has been urged to rollout better internet access alongside complete mobile phone coverage to help farm more efficiently and fully utilise emerging digital technology such as robotics and GPS. The proposition comes after a report shows that lack of broadband in rural areas is the main reason the UK is seeing a decline in rural society. The letter states an introduction of a UK farm management deposit scheme is needed to provide farms with the ability to better manage the impact of volatility on profits and their cash flow and enable them to maintain more consistent investment levels. The last proposition urges the Chancellor to look into a review of trading loss restrictions to help farmers invest in restructuring their businesses. 'Ambitious future' Mr Raymond said he wants to remind Chancellor Philip Hammond of the "significant" economic contribution farming plays in the UK, contributing 109bn to the economy. One week ahead of the Budget Statement, Id like to remind the Chancellor Philip Hammond of farmings significant economic contribution. This is on top of caring for our iconic British countryside and putting safe, affordable British food on tables across the country, Mr Raymond said. In this Budget, the Chancellor has the chance to help secure a bold, ambitious future for British farming. The NFU has made the case for a number of measures which the Chancellor can harness to prepare our sector for life outside the EU. Brexit presents an enormous opportunity for the sector, and Government across all departments can help us grab it with both hands. The leader of a Scottish farming union has said Brexit success will be measured by how much farmers will earn. NFU Scotlands President Andrew McCornick said Scottish farming wants a "profitable and sustainable" future through Brexit. Mr McCornick said one way of measuring how successful Brexit will be is if there is an increase in farm income. He said they must be improved "now and beyond" the Brexit process. The president used Scotlands biggest one-day agricultural event to call for politicians across the UK to focus on the long-term future of the industry. Speaking at AgriScot, staged at Ingliston near Edinburgh, Mr McCornick said Brexit was a wake-up call and an opportunity to do better, but the measure of its success would be measured in farm incomes. He called on politicians in all parliaments to put aside short-term fixes and focus on a long-term view of policy and support to allow farmers and crofters to plan. The speech follows news of levy bodies urging Scottish farmers to review their businesses and prepare for Brexit, after a report released quantifies the potential impact of Brexit on UK farming businesses under different scenarios. 'Long-term view' Sharing a platform at AgriScot with Scotlands Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing, Mr McCornick said: All parts of Scottish farming, food and drink want a profitable, sustainable future through and beyond Brexit. Scotlands farmers and crofters work in scales of production that are measured in years, so we need to move away from short-term fixes. A long-term view of policy and support is essential to allow all parts of our industry to make decisions. To deliver on the right policies for Scotland, all politicians in all parliaments need to show genuine commitment to work together to secure the future for our industry, our environment and our rural economy. The measure of success will be judged in farmers and crofters incomes. Mr McCornick added: These need to be improved now and beyond the Brexit process to allow us to invest in our businesses and deliver food, landscapes, jobs, environmental benefits and a thriving rural economy. Brexit is the wake-up call and the opportunity to change and do better." Reactions Weren't Favourable... Talking to Mid Day, a trade analyst says, "Reactions to the news weren't favourable. Eid is locked for a Salman film. Any film clashing with it must be contextually strong." Will Aishwarya & Fanney Khan Team Back Off? However, a few hours ago, the official page of KriArj refuted all the rumours saying, "Speculations about #FanneyKhan being rescheduled are all rumours. It is fully on schedule to be released on 15 June 2018 #FanneyKhanEid2018." Salman In The Other News.. On a related note, Salman Khan is currently gearing up for his upcoming film with Katrina Kaif i.e., Tiger Zinda Hai and here's the latest still from the sets of the movie! Salman Khan To Be Back With A Bang Salman Khan's last release, Tubelight, might have not done wonders at the box-office but going through the buzz, his upcoming film looks promising enough to shatter all the records. Salman & Katrina Reunion On the other side, apart from the genre of the film, it's the comeback of one of the most sizzling jodis of silver screen and fans are quite elated to watch Katrina Kaif & Salman Khan opposite each other. Coming Back To Fanney Khan.. Coming back to Fanney Khan, recently, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan & Anil Kapoor were spotted shooting for the film in Mumbai and we're quite excited to see what the duo will offer on the silver screen! The Story Of Fanney Khan Is Unique.. The best thing about Fanney Khan is its star-cast and the story of course! If on one side, we will get to see Rajkummar Rao romancing Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, we're curious to know how the film will deal with the issue of 'body-shaming'. Karan Johar said when it comes to his films, romance is not limited to the characters he etches for the celluloid but the director said actors have often fallen for each other on the sets of his movies. The 45-year-old filmmaker said he can easily recall actors on his sets falling in love more than five times. "Yes, it happens all the time. It has happened more than five times, I can assure you. People fall in love, it's the industry of love," Karan said. The director added the off-screen romance has never interfered in the making a film but has only "enhanced it". When quizzed if he has a policy that actors are not allowed to date each other while working in the movie, Karan said, "No not at all. I love it. I don't believe you can ever (control) anyone's personal life. We are here to work, make movies... What people do in their personal capacity is entirely their thing. "In fact, if they fall in love it's great. If it's legit and lovely... it's fine. Even if it's not, it's their problem." The filmmaker was speaking at the launch of his radio show, 'Calling Karan' for Ishq FM. Horrifying Experience Rohit Shetty told Pinkvilla, "I have gone through this during Dilwale and it's a mess. I just feel it gets sorted out as soon as possible because it's a big budget film and everyone has worked so hard on it." He Wishes This Gets Over Soon The filmmaker further added, "I think as it gets over I will be more than happy that the movie has a peaceful release. It will be great for the production house and the industry also." Farhan's Take Last evening at a book launch event when quizzed about the protests against Padmavati and Marathi film Nude and Malayalam movie S Durga being dropped by the centre from IFFI, Farhan said, "This has happened with many films in the past and every time it has happened, I have spoken openly about it that it should not happen. I am totally against anything being banned." Audience Is Not Kids He said, "I genuinely believe that we should stop treating our audiences as children. We should allow them to grow. Expose them to different types of ideas. Allow them to understand culture and think. It is important for the development of any nation that there are viewpoints, that are not always in agreement with the majority." He Condemned The Violence Being Subjected To Padmavati's Release "In cinema, there is no such law that if a film releases, come what may you have to watch it. You have the freedom to boycott the film. To spread the message to boycott the film but what you don't have is the freedom to threaten someone with grievous bodily harm, or break someone's theatre or hurt someone in any way. And unfortunately, that's where the line hasn't been drawn properly. We as a film industry are dependent on the CBFC to tell us what is okay and what is not okay. We have accepted that. Beyond that, it is up to the I&B ministry and the government to protect the films and filmmakers. That's what I have always believed and that's what I believe in case of these three films," he added. Regression Statements BJP leader Subramanian Swamy lashed out at Deepika Padukone for her 'regression' comments. Ongoing Protests She was referring to the ongoing protests targeting her upcoming film Padmavati. Nation's Mood She said "where have we reached as a nation? We have regressed." Not Gone Down Well The statement Deepika made has not gone down well with several outfits. Attacking Her Even Subramanian Swamy's followers have turned their axes against Deepika Padukone. Dire Consequences Several fringe outfits have threatened to burn down theatres screening Padmavati. Dutch Citizen? A user on Subramanian Swamy's tweet said Deepika is a Dutch citizen! If True! Subramanian Swamy replied to his tweet in a positive way saying, "If true, she must disclose why". Grand Release Padmavati is all set to hit the theatres on December 1, 2017. Starcast The film stars Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh in the lead roles. Director's Cut Padmavati is directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Bandgi Kalra THROWN OUT Of Her Mumbai House Bandgi and Puneesh's intimacy has become bad news for the former, as her landlord has decided to throw her out of the (Mumbai) house as soon as she is out of the Bigg Boss house. Bandgis Close Friend Reveals According to the Tellychakkar report, Bandgi's close friend had revealed to media that Bandgi has been thrown out of her Mumbai house! Bandgis Landlord Want Her To Pack Her Bags! A source was quoted as saying, "Her landlord does not want her to stay in his house and has informed her close friend that she should pack her bags and hunt for another house as soon as she's back from Bigg Boss 11." Bandgis Landlord Do Not Have Any Personal Issues With Her! The source further added, "The landlord has no personal issues with her. It is because the society, in which she lives, is a very reputed one, and they don't wish that she should continue to reside in their society anymore..." Bandgi Thrown Out Because Of Her Intimacy With Puneesh! "... especially because of her presence likely to have a bad influence on the children of that area. Hence, he is ready to throw her out as soon as she's out of the Bigg Boss 11 house." Bandgi Hails From A Small Town A source close to Bandagi's family revealed, "Bandgi hails from a small town of Punjab called Jalalabad." Bandgis Relatives Are Unhappy "Belonging to a well-to-do family, her relatives are immensely unhappy with what she has been doing inside the Bigg Boss 11 house." Bandgis Father Rushed To Hospital "Owing to such rumours and gossip against her reputation, Bandgi's father was recently rushed to the hospital because of high blood pressure issues." Bandgi-Puneesh It has to be recalled that Bandgi and Puneesh locked themselves in the bathroom. After which, Bandgi had told Puneesh that her family will not accept her. Puneesh had said that he will accept her, to which Bandgi told him, "Bakwas nahi karo tum." Bandgi Had Rejected C*nd*m Ad Offer! We had recently revealed that Bandgi was offered c*nd*m advertisement a year and a half ago, but she refused it saying that she did not want to do anything that would upset or offend her parents. Sukesh had allegedly attempted to bribe the EC for VK Sasikala's faction and was in jail for the same. By Rohini Swamy: Is VK sasikala and her family in more trouble? It looks like the I-T department continues to tighten the noose around Sasikala and TTV Dinakaran. I-T sleuths have recovered 8 top end cars from the high profile conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. Chandrashekhar is the man who is known to be a close aide of TTV Dinakaran and VK Sasikala and also acted as a tout for VK Sasikala. He was arrested by the Delhi Police on April 16 when he attempted to bribe the election commission over the AIADMK two leaves symbol for VK Sasikala's faction. advertisement The income tax department has confiscated nine expensive cars and a super bike after they raided a property in Kochi on November 10. Sources in the I-T department have confirmed to India Today that they have recovered a Porsche, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Range Rover, BMW, Fortuner, Prado, Innova and a Ducati bike (two-wheeler). A Bentley and a Jaguar were seized earlier when a raid was conducted in October this year. Sukesh as of now is under trial in Tihar jail had been brought to Bangaluru last month for a court hearing. According to sources from the Income Tax department, during post search inquiries, it was found that Sukesh had bought few more luxury vehicles by investing more than 5 crores and paying for it in cash. The trail led to a man called Navas who confided that he was a key associate of Sukesh and a custodian of these vehicles. The department conducted a search on Navas and found 6 vehicles, original documents of the vehicles and 3 costly wrist watches. All these items have been confiscated. What is appalling is that Sukesh Chandrashekhar went about purchasing the vehicles worth 5 crores in cash while he was under arrest. I-T sources said under confidentiality that he received money from his contacts and splurged the money to buy the high-end cars in August this year. WATCH: Rs 1430 crore recovered in Sasikala raids: Operation clean money or arm twisting? --- ENDS --- Ex-minister about the integration of Georgias ministries of Environment and Agriculture - GeorgianJournal Bharti Airtel sells 83 million shares of its tower arm Bharti Infratel News oi -Priyanka The sale was for a total consideration of over Rs 3,325 crore ($510 Million) and was executed at a price of Rs. 400.6 per share, representing a discount of 3.6 percent to the previous days closing India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel announced that it sold over 83 million shares of its tower arm Bharti Infratel, worth Rs 3, 325 crores($510 million). The sale was for a total consideration of over Rs 3,325 crore ($510 Million) and was executed at a price of Rs. 400.6 per share, representing a discount of 3.6 percent to the previous day's closing price. The allocation was done to global investors, fund managers and long-only funds, including many repeat investors. Led by healthy investor appetite, the deal was upsized by over 25 percent. "Bharti Airtel will primarily use the proceeds from this sale to reduce its debt. Following the closure of this transaction, Bharti Airtel and its wholly owned subsidiaries together have an equity holding of 53.51 percent in Bharti Infratel.," the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. It came after Vodafone India and Idea Cellular Limited ("Idea") have separately agreed to sell their respective standalone tower businesses in India to ATC Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited ("ATC TIPL", formerly Viom) for an aggregate enterprise value of Rs 78.5 billion (US$1.2 billion) The standalone tower businesses of Vodafone India and Idea are pan-Indian passive telecommunication infrastructure businesses, comprising a combined portfolio of approximately 20,000 towers with a combined tenancy ratio of 1.65x as at 30 June 2017. The idea will sell its entire stake in ICISL and Vodafone India will sell a business undertaking to ATC TIPL. Both Vodafone India and Idea as customers and ATC TIPL as a mobile network infrastructure provider have agreed to treat each other as long-term preferred partners, subject to existing arrangements. The parties will work together to further the expansion of high-speed mobile networks in India. 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. 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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 Sonam Kapoor hit out at Sri Sri Ravi Shankar for reportedly claiming that homosexuality is a tendency that might change. By India Today Web Desk: Sonam Kapoor slammed spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar after he reportedly referred to homosexuality as a "tendency" that "may change". Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had reportedly said at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Monday, "...know that this tendency is not a permanent thing. It may change. I've seen many men who were gay later turn into heterosexuals, and there are those who are normal, who are called straight people, end up being gay later in life." advertisement The Neerja actor took to Twitter to write, "Homosexuality is not a 'tendency' it's something you are born as and is absolutely NORMAL. To tell someone you can change is irresponsible." Homosexuality is not a tendency its something you are born as and is absolutely NORMAL. To tell someone you can change is irresponsible.- Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) November 14, 2017 Sonam's tweet soon attracted the attention of trolls, some of them questioning her "expertise in this field". Many Twitter users maintained that Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had been misquoted, he was answering an audience member's query of how he should handle mistreatment at the hands of his friends and family for being homosexual. The spiritual leader had also said, "Don't think you are sick or something is wrong with you," and encouraged him to treat himself with respect, so that no one else could insult him. STUPIDITY is a tendency, it's something you are born with and is NOT normal; or is it too irresponsible of us to ask you to change.!#GrowUp #SaySorrySonam #Fact ???pic.twitter.com/C6FvipE3bQ- Swami Brahmachitta (@Brahmachitt) November 14, 2017 On the work front, Sonam will be seen next on the big screen in Shashanka Ghosh's Veere Di Wedding. The film, which also features Kareena Kapoor Khan, Swara Bhaskar and Shikha Talsania, will hit the theatres on May 18, 2018. ALSO WATCH: Sonam Kapoor says Neerja helped her conquer her own fears --- ENDS --- By PTI: Karachi, Nov 15 (PTI) A senior Pakistani police officer and his three family members were today killed by four unidentified, motorcycle-borne militants in the countrys Balochistan province, officials said, in the latest targeted attack on security forces in the restive region. Militants attacked the vehicle of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Muhammad Illyas who was on his way to market, killing the officer, his wife, son and five-year-old granddaughter. advertisement The targeted killing took place when the Illyas was going to the market with his family and his vehicle was attacked by four gunmen on motorcycles in the Nawa Kili area of Quetta, officials said. "The SSP, his wife, son and a five-year grandchild have been killed in the attack while his daughter-in-law and an infant have been wounded," a government official said. The targeted killing of Illyas is the second deadly terrorist attack on a senior police official in Quetta in a weeks time. A suspected suicide bomber killed Additional Inspector General Telecommunications Hamid Shakeel and three other police officers in a targeted attack in Quetta on November 9. According to another police official, SSP Illyas was going with his entire family to the market when the attack took place with the gunmen on motorcycles surrounding his vehicle and opening fire from two sides. "His wife, son, and grandchild were killed instantly while SSP Illyas also died on the spot. His daughter-in-law and an infant have been critically wounded," he said. Balochistan has been rocked by a series of attacks which raised concerns about a growing militant presence, including those affiliated with Islamic State, which has claimed several bombings in the restive province. The unrest has raised security concerns for projects in the USD 50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a transport and energy link from western China to Pakistans southern Gwadar port. At least six police commandos and a civilian were killed last month when an explosives-laden vehicle rammed into a security forces convoy on the Quetta-Sibi Highway. In August this year, a massive suicide explosion, targeting Pakistan Army personnel in Quetta, left 15 people dead ? including seven civilians ? and injured at least 20 people. In June this year, 14 people, including seven policemen, were killed and 21 others were injured in a suicide car bombing on Gulistan Road in Balochistan. PTI CORR MRJ AKJ MRJ --- ENDS --- German Intelligence Chief Urges West to Prepare for Russia's 'Potential Threat' Sputnik News 22:57 14.11.2017 German Federal Intelligence Agency (BND) chief Bruno Kahl warned Western countries on Tuesday that they should be ready to deter the alleged "Russian threat". MOSCOW (Sputnik) The BND chief Bruno Kahl on Tuesday called on Western countries to make sure they are ready to counter any "potential threat' posed by Russia while at the same time maintaining "close ties" with Moscow. "To put it bluntly, instead of having a partner for European security, we are more likely to face a potential threat in Russia," Kahl said in an interview to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. The BND chief stressed that NATO member states and the West should prepare themselves for "counterbalancing and deterring these potential threats." He added, however, that the Western states should also support close relations and communication channels with Russia in case Moscow reaches out to say it is interested in cooperation. NATO has been gradually boosting its military buildup in Eastern Europe, citing Russia's alleged meddling in the Ukrainian crisis in 2014. Following the July 2016 summit, the alliance announced that it would deploy four multinational battalions to Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Poland. In May, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that while Russia was not a threat to anyone, Moscow could not ignore any actions that could present a threat to its own national interests. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Coalition Airstrikes Kill 4 Senior ISIS Leaders From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release SOUTHWEST ASIA, Nov. 14, 2017 Coalition airstrikes killed four senior Islamic State of Iraq and Syria leaders in the past three weeks, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials announced today. "The removal of these key terrorists disrupts ISIS' weapons engineering activities and their ability to recruit and train terrorists," officials said in a statement. "It also reduces their ability to plan and conduct terrorist attacks, both within Syria and Iraq and abroad." Dead are: -- Yusuf Demir, an ISIS media official with links to ISIS networks throughout the Middle East and Europe, killed Oct. 26 near Qaim, Iraq; -- Omer Demir, an ISIS external operations coordinator with links to ISIS networks in the Middle East and Europe, also killed Oct. 26 near Qaim; -- Abu Yazin, an ISIS senior leader and weapons facilitator, killed Nov. 3 near Mayadin, Syria; and -- Abdellah Hajjiaou, an ISIS external operations plotter, killed Nov. 5 near Abu Kamal, Syria. "The coalition will continue to exert pressure on ISIS senior leaders and associates across multiple networks in order to degrade, disrupt, and dismantle ISIS structures and remove the extremist terrorists throughout Iraq and Syria," officials said in the statement announcing the deaths. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Defeat-ISIS Campaign Deprives Enemy of Safe Havens, OIR Official Says By Terri Moon Cronk DoD News, Defense Media Activity WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2017 The U.S.-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria continues to support Syrian Democratic Forces as they pressure ISIS by advancing toward the confluence of the Kabul and Euphrates River valleys, Army Col. Ryan S. Dillon, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, told reporters today. More than 1,500 square miles of formerly ISIS-held territory has been liberated since the beginning of operations in September, Dillon said from Baghdad during a teleconference with reporters in the Pentagon. "The coalition continues supporting our Syrian partners through surveillance and combat advice, as well as more than 40 precision strikes in the past week targeting ISIS fighters weapons, logistics and command nodes," Dillon said. He added, "We will continue to deprive ISIS remnants of their resources in safe havens and continue our defeat-ISIS mission so long as they pose a threat." The fielding and training of police and security forces such as the Raqqa Internal Security Force "will grow in importance as ISIS' conventional force continues to face defeat and reverts to its terrorist roots," Dillon said. Supporting Partners "The coalition will continue to support our partners' needs for effective forces tailored to meet the needs of the Syrian and Iraqi people," he added. As war debris is carefully cleared, residents can begin to return home, the spokesman said. This week with coalition-enabled efforts, nearly 8,000 civilians were returned to their homes in Meshlib, Syria, after the SDF declared the area clear, he added. Additionally, the inclusive and locally governed Raqqa Civil Council has led the way in public health, safety, economic and educational efforts in the area, with ongoing support from the coalition, Dillon said. "Many of these stabilization efforts in Syria are coordinated through the U.S. State Department's Syrian Transition Assistance and Response Team -- or START -- in support of these locally led civil councils," he said. Iraq Operations Moving to Iraq, Iraqi security forces continue in their clearance of western Anbar province, targeting ISIS in their final remaining holdouts in that nation, Dillon noted. In the past week, the ISF completed back-clearance operations in Qaim, eliminating ISIS weapons caches including improvised explosive devices and mortars, he said. "As the ISF secure and hold these recently cleared areas, they also continue their advance against ISIS in the city of Rawah," Dillon said. "As with all these operations, planned and executed by the capable ISF, the coalition continues to provide intelligence, advice and support." The coalition conducted six strikes against ISIS in Rawah in the past week, targeting tactical units and fighting positions, he added. "As with Syria, areas liberated of ISIS [in Iraq] still require attention to ensure lasting security, and to set conditions for long-term stabilization," Dillon said. "Therefore, we continue supporting development of our ISF partner forces. At the same time, the global coalition is working with the government of Iraq to support various economic and education initiatives." Across Iraq, the coalition sees progress and stabilization, the spokesman said. "To consolidate and secure these gains, we must remain committed to ensuring long-term security which will require the united efforts of our Iraqi security forces partners and the global coalition," Dillon said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NEO Drill Prepares Iwo Jima for Deployment Navy News Service Story Number: NNS171114-23 Release Date: 11/14/2017 3:15:00 PM From Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group Public Affairs ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- Components of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit conducted a non-combatant evacuation operation (NEO) drill Nov. 12 as part of its Combined Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). A NEO is the safe evacuation of personnel in the event an emergency situation arises in a foreign country. USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) conducted the drill to train personnel in case the need to conduct such an operation arises during their upcoming deployment. "This is a vital piece of what we may encounter when we deploy," said Lt. Aaron Fish, Iwo Jima's NEO coordinator. "This is literally an all-hands effort; everyone on the ship has a key role to play. Whether it's checking them into the ship, acting as an escort or any number of positions, the fact that everyone onboard is committed to the exercise helped this become a success and something to build off of into the future." Iwo Jima's hangar bay was divided into separate stations, including administrative, medical, security and supply. Supply personnel provided food and water while security created an identification database for all of the "evacuees." Each evacuee filled out census forms to account for themselves and their families. Other key events during the exercise included a pair of medical emergencies, something Iwo Jima's medical team knows it must be prepared for during an actual event. "Whether an exercise or real-world, the kinetic operations of the amphibious ready group we support mandate that Navy Operational Medicine is ready at all times," said Capt. Brian Feldman, amphibious task force surgeon and commander of Fleet Surgical Team 8. "Integration with all of the shipboard emergency systems from litter bearers to tactical communications, demonstrated in dividends the impressive medical capability of this platform, when it's put to the test. It takes an incredible group of individuals to make this happen and I'm proud of each and every one of them." Iwo Jima crewmembers played the role of evacuees arriving via aircraft during the exercise. "I thought everything went pretty well," said Fire Controlman 3rd Class Leighna Chambers, who played an evacuee during the drill. "It was fun to act a part and it shows how the ship can really work as a team." Iwo Jima, components of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are conducting a Combined Composite Training Unit Exercise that is the culmination of training for the Navy-Marine Corps team and will certify them for deployment. The Iwo Jima ARG embarks the 26th MEU and is comprised of Iwo Jima, the dock transport ship USS New York (LPD 21), the dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), Fleet Surgical Team (FST) 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 22, components of Naval Beach Group (NBG) 2 and the embarked staff of PHIBRON 4. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Three-carrier exercises "normal operation": Pentagon chief People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:37, November 14, 2017 WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The deployment of three U.S. aircraft carriers, which entered waters off the Korean Peninsula in a joint maritime exercise with the South Korea, was just a "normal operation" with "no big message" intended, said U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis here on Monday. The U.S. 7th Fleet, a part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said on its website Thursday that the USS Ronald Reagan, USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt will commence three-carrier exercises in international waters in the Western Pacific over four days beginning Saturday. Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon that "this is what we normally do with allies." According to the 7th Fleet, it is the first time since 2007 exercises near Guam that three U.S. carrier strike groups have operated together in the Western Pacific. Mattis said it has been 10 years since the last three-carrier exercises, adding that the United States doesn't "have an abundance of aircraft carriers" and it usually keeps them "spread out and working with allies." The strike groups were expected to conduct air defense drills, sea surveillance, replenishments at sea, defensive air combat training, close-in coordinated maneuvers and carry out other training. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese, U.S. militaries start joint drills on humanitarian relief, disaster rescue People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:05, November 14, 2017 PORTLAND, the United States, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese and U.S. militaries began joint drills on humanitarian relief and disaster rescue in Portland, Oregon, on the U.S. West Coast. The event, scheduled from Nov. 13 to Nov. 20, will be held in three stages in Portland, the largest city in Oregon, with the first three days focused on tabletop exchanges and discussions before four days of command post exercises and field manoeuvers against the backdrop of flooding and other climatic disasters. At this stage, 35 representatives from both sides will set up a multinational coordination center to simulate humanitarian and disaster relief and rescue operations in a third country. These activities will follow standard operation procedures for relief and rescue by multinational troops adopted at a defense ministers' meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. During joint drills, troops from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command and the U.S. Army Pacific and its Coast Guards will practice water-surface helicopter rescue, debris and narrow-space rescue operations and fast building of pontoon bridges. This week's military-to-military exchanges and drills are part of institutional exchange programs between China and the United States. Since the program was first launched in 1997, more than 400 people from both sides have participated in various exchange activities, and 13 sessions of tabletop discussions, five command post exercises and four field manoeuvers have been carried out. Such exchanges have helped the Chinese and U.S. militaries learn from each other on their respective humanitarian relief experiences, and played an important role in deepening the practical cooperation between China and the United States. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Svanubhava festival has had 85-90 different art forms being performed on stage. By Prachi Sibal: It was in the year 2008 that two organisations, Matrika and the Youth Association for classical music, came together to create a festival that would benefit students of performing arts with concerts crafted especially for them. Initially restricted to Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam performances, Svanubhava, now in its tenth year has come a long way to be an inclusive treat for students from all streams and lovers of the arts from across the city. advertisement "With every year, we have tried to expand our horizons further. We started including forms like kathak and Odissi in the third year and now have folk artists performing forms like Yakshagana, light music and Manipuri dance," says Rithvik Raja, committee member. With artists TM Krishna and Bombay Jayashri at the helm when it first began Svanubhava gained popularity in the city, ventured into as many as seven others and has had 85-90 different art forms being performed on its stage. Kathak and Odissi are going to be a part of the fest for the third year now. In the fifth year, the committee came together to take these performances outside of traditional music venues into public venues that attract audiences of all kinds. This year, the festival spanning a month has taken art to the students in their own campuses. "We have always thought about the value of the experience of a performance for a student from a different stream. We want to witness these forms and interpret them in the way they want in their own lives," explains Raja who is also a disciple of TM Krishna. Svanabhuva is unique not just in its approach but format too. Every performance with exponents from each of the art forms ends in a Q&A session where the audience is free to ask the artist any questions about the performance. Recalling one such instance, Raja says, "We once had a five year old ask ghatam exponent Vikku Vinayakaram if he worries about the ghatam breaking under pressure. He took the time out to explain to the child". While it is such experiences that encapsulate the essence of the festival, volunteer and Carnatic musician Vidhya Raghavan says, "It is an opportunity from students across disciplines to mingle and talk about art. I have also realised that experiencing an art form is important but becomes larger part of your memories when done with friends". The festival has had 85-90 different art forms being performed on its stage. Schedule: November 16, 2017 Inauguration by Shri N. Murali (President, Music Academy) advertisement 9 AM - Music - Students of Kalakshetra Foundation 9.20 AM - Bharatanatyam - Students of Sri Devi Nrithyalaya, Choreography by Sheela Unnikrishnan 10.20 AM - Carnatic Instrumental Ensemble - Mylai Karthikeyan, Sujith Naik, B. Vijay Natesan and K.V. Gopalakrishnan AT Olcott Memorial High School, Besant Nagar November 17, 2017 9 AM - Paraiattam by Friends Kalai Kuzhu 10.15 AM - Theatre - Crea-Shakti presents Dolls with Janaki Sabesh, Manasvini K.R., Akshaya Ravishankar, Zarin Shihab & directed by Dushyanth Gunashekar AT Olcott Memorial High School, Besant Nagar November 21, 2017 7.00 PM - 'Unstage' in association with Red Bindu Project presents T.M. Karthik (English Theatre) and Aishwarya Manivannan (Silambattam) AT SPACES, Besant Nagar --- ENDS --- ASEAN to negotiate South China Sea code of conduct People's Daily Online By ZHANG YUE in Manila (China Daily) 07:36, November 14, 2017 China and member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said on Monday they would begin talks on details of a code of conduct in the South China Sea. Premier Li Keqiang made the proposal at the 20th China-ASEAN (10+1) leaders' meeting in Manila on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said. Late on Monday, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, ASEAN's rotating chairman this year, said the organization agreed to start the talks on the code of conduct, presidential spokesman Harry Roque told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. "One of the outcomes of the meetings is to commence the negotiations on a substantive and effective code of conduct in the South China Sea," Roque said in a statement. In Monday's meeting, ASEAN countries responded positively to the start of negotiations, according to a Chinese news release after the meeting. The meeting was attended by all government leaders of the 10 member countries of the regional organization. "Developing ties with ASEAN has always been a priority of China's peripheral diplomacy, and China-ASEAN ties have grown into the most dynamic and enriched ones among ASEAN's relations with its dialogue partners and ASEAN member states," Li said. He said the code of conduct framework on the South China Sea, which was passed in May during the Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, brings a key consensus from all parties on the South China Sea and has marked a milestone in peacefully resolving the issue. "We hope that further dialogue of the COC will deepen mutual trust and understanding, and reach consensus on the COC at an early date based on consultation so that it can serve as a stabilizer of the South China Sea region," Li said. Lee Hsien Loong, prime minister of Singapore, which is the coordinating state for China-ASEAN ties, also spoke. Li's plan calls for a China-ASEAN development vision of a strategic partnership of cooperation for the year 2030. He said China is ready to expand the basis of China-ASEAN cooperation from political mutual trust and economic development to people-to-people exchanges to build China-ASEAN relations with a global vision. China is willing to work ASEAN's development strategy into the Belt and Road Initiative, Li said, adding that China is ready to issue a joint declaration with ASEAN further deepening connectivity and infrastructure construction. Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said announcement of the negotiations for a code of conduct is of critical importance, as it is a signal that all ASEAN leaders have agreed to take steps to negotiate a code of conduct. "The dispute on the South China Sea has affected China-ASEAN relations in recent years and it was mainly because the declaration on the conduct was not effectively followed," he said. "Today's consensus in agreeing to start the code of conduct negotiation means sincerity and willingness to start substantive negotiations on the code from the top levels of both China and ASEAN countries, and this will bring more effective control of the South China Sea disputes." Expansion of cooperation, from trade and political trust to people-to-people exchange, means Sino-ASEAN ties are now aiming for a long-term vision, he said, adding that political mutual trust between China and ASEAN is grounded, while trade relations have been the highlight of China-ASEAN cooperation in recent years. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hariri says he will return to Lebanon in next two days Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 07:14PM Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says he will return to Lebanon in the next two days, after his surprise resignation in Saudi Arabia created a shockwave in Lebanon's political scene. Hariri announced the news in a Twitter message on Tuesday amid speculations about the time of his possible return to Lebanon. Hariri announced his resignation in Riyadh on November 4, shortly after travelling to Saudi Arabia. The televised announcement saw him reading out from a statement. Lebanese government officials and senior sources close to Hariri believe that Riyadh forced him to step down and has further placed him under effective house arrest since he touched down in Saudi Arabia on November 3, a day before he announced his shock resignation in a televised address aired from the kingdom's capital. Lebanon's Foreign Ministry has pledged to keep up pressure on Saudi Arabia not to impede Hariri's return, the al-Akhbar paper reported, citing sources within the ministry. However, in a Sunday interview, the first since he flew to Saudi Arabia, Hariri described himself as a "free man" who intended to "return" to his home country "within days," denying widespread speculations that he had been on house arrest since he filed his resignation from the Saudi capital. Riyadh says the Lebanese premier has stayed in Saudi Arabia of his own free will. Hariri cited several reasons, including the security situation in Lebanon, for his sudden decision. He also said that he realized a plot was being hatched against his life. Furthermore, Hariri also accused Iran and the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah, of meddling in the Arab countries' affairs; an allegation the two have strongly rejected. Hezbollah is part of the coalition government led by Hariri. In the interview, Hariri added that he would be willing to "rescind the resignation" if intervention in regional conflicts, particularly "by Hezbollah," stopped. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address OCHA urges Saudi-led coalition to open all Yemen's sea ports Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 02:26PM The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia should urgently open all Yemen's sea ports amid the famine and the spread of diseases that have affected some seven million people in the war-ravaged country, a UN official has said. Jamie McGoldrick of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Tuesday in the Swiss city of Geneva that the ongoing Saudi-led blockade risked undoing the fight against cholera and hunger. The UN official said seven million people were already in "famine-like conditions" in Yemen. McGoldrick went on to say that the northern region of Yemen only had 20 days' stock of diesel, which is crucial for pumping water and battling the cholera outbreak. Yemen, he said, had 10 days' stock of gasoline, with no prospect of resupply soon. The United Nations says there is "no indication" that the Saudi-led coalition is lifting the naval and aerial blockade. McGoldrick said the UN was aware of an announcement that the coalition was allowing deliveries to two ports in southern Yemen, which are controlled by pro-Saudi authorities. He said access to such ports was "helpful" but the key need was access to the Red Sea ports of Salif and Hudaydah, which are closer to large population centers and are currently inaccessible to UN aid shipments. Saudi Arabia has been incessantly pounding Yemen since March 2015 in an attempt to crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstate the former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is a staunch ally of the regime in Riyadh. Recently, the United Nations added Riyadh and its allies to a blacklist for the "killing and maiming of children." Riyadh's deadly campaign has seriously damaged Yemen's infrastructure. Local Yemeni sources have put the death toll from Saudi airstrikes at over 14,000 people. Another 2,100 people have died of cholera since April as hospitals struggle to secure basic supplies across the country. In late October, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that food was being used as a "weapon of war" in Yemen at a time when millions of people faced an impending famine in the impoverished Arab country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address House declares US military's role in Saudi war on Yemen unauthorized Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 02:07PM The US House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a resolution clearly stating that US military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its war against neighboring Yemen is not authorized by Congress. In a rare exercise of its war-making role, the House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly passed a resolution explicitly stating that US military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its war in Yemen is not authorized under legislation passed by Congress to fight terrorism or invade Iraq. The House adopted the nonbinding resolution by 366-30 vote on Monday. In a rare exercise, the House publicly acknowledged the Pentagon has been sharing targeting information and refueling warplanes that Saudi Arabia and its allies are using in their war of aggression against the impoverished nation. The resolution states that US military operations are partly authorized to fight only al-Qaeda and other allied terrorist groups in Yemen, but not Houthi fighters. "To date," the resolution says, "Congress has not enacted specific legislation authorizing the use of military force against parties participating in the Yemeni civil war that are not otherwise subject to" the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force or the 2003 AUMF in Iraq. The House vote is being seen as a key victory for members of both Democratic and Republican Parties who believe only Congress has the power to authorize US military operations overseas. The US government's support for Saudi Arabia in its brutal war against Yemen is unconstitutional, House Representative Ro Khanna a Democrat -- has said. "What our military is not authorized to do is assist the Saudi Arabian regime in fighting the Houthis," said Khanna, who co-sponsored the resolution with Representative Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), on the House floor. "In many cases, the Saudis have aligned with al-Qaeda to fight the Houthis undermining our very counterterrorism operations." "I've said for years we should sunset the 2001 AUMF," added Representative Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. "We never intended it to be a blank check." Khanna, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, has been urging Congress to exert more oversight of US military operations abroad. He argues that American involvement in the war in Yemen requires congressional authorization under the War Powers Act. "I don't believe our security cooperation with the Saudis triggers War Powers," House Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said. "But just because it does not arise under that particular statute, does not make it immune from our scrutiny." Last month, Khanna and three other senators introduced a resolution under the War Powers Act, which gives Congress 15 days to vote on Washington's involvement in the devastating war which has killed over 12,000 Yemeni civilians since it began in March 2015. Approved in 1973, the War Powers Act is intended to check the president's power to commit America to armed conflicts without congressional consent. While the US military started helping the Saudi-led conflict under command of then President Barack Obama, the cooperation grew dramatically larger under his successor, Donald Trump, who secured major arms deals with the oil-rich kingdom during a trip in May. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UAE buys new weapons worth $684 million from US firm Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 01:30PM The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed a new deal with an American arms manufacturer under which the firm would supply the small Persian Gulf country with laser-guided bombs, authorities say. The deal, announced Tuesday at the Dubai Airshow and worth 2.5 billion dirhams ($684.4 million), would see the American missile maker Raytheon Co. sell GBU-10 and GBU-12 Paveway laser-guided bomb kits to Abu Dhabi, among other weapons. UAE authorities also signed arms deals with Germany's Rheinmetall to buy artillery from the company. The contract will also enable Rheinmetall to support Etihad Airways with transportation equipment. The purchase of weapons comes amid the UAE's involvement in a deadly campaign, led by Saudi Arabia, against Yemen. More than 10,000 people have been killed and over two million have been displaced since March 2015, when the regime in Riyadh began the campaign. Abu Dhabi has also announced plans for buying 75 Mirage 2000-9 aircraft from the French multinational company Dassault and Thales to upgrade its air force fleet. That comes despite increasing calls for a halt to the UAE's contribution to the devastating Saudi-led airstrikes on civilian areas in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are two major recipients in the Persian Gulf of weapons from the United States and other Western countries. Other countries in the region have accused the two of sparking an arms race by their excessive purchase of modern weaponry from the West. Reports over the past few years have indicated that much of the UAE's modern weaponry have found their way into the hands of militants in Libya, where Abu Dhabi supports an administration opposed to Tripoli's internationally-recognized government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel deploys missiles weeks after bombing Gaza lifeline tunnel Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 06:53AM Israel has deployed missile systems to the center of occupied territories for fear of a possible retaliatory attack, two weeks after the regime's warplanes bombed Gaza and killed a dozen members of Palestinian resistance movements there. The Israeli military the announcement on Monday, but did not elaborate on where the so-called Iron Dome batteries had exactly been installed. This is the first time such a war-like posture has been adopted by the Tel Aviv regime since 2014, when Israel launched a bloody 50-day war on the blockaded Gaza Strip. In late October, Israeli fighter jets destroyed a lifeline tunnel in the southern part of the besieged Gaza Strip, killing 10 members of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad resistance movement and two other fighters with the fellow Hamas resistance group. In a video posted on YouTube on Saturday, Israeli Major General Yoav Mordechai warned Islamic Jihad that any retaliatory attack by the group "will be met with a powerful and determined Israeli response, not only against the Jihad, but also against Hamas." A day later, the resistance movement said in a statement on Sunday that it would not back down on its "right to respond to any aggression, including our right to respond to the crime of aggression on the resistance tunnel." The Israeli "threats to target the movement's leadership is a declaration of war, which we will confront," the statement read. In yet another measure against Islamic Jihad, Israel arrested one of its senior leaders, identified as Tareq Qadaan, near the city of Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank on Monday. Israel claims that resistance fighters use the Gaza underground tunnels to stockpile weapons and infiltrate into the occupied lands. They, however, say the tunnels are needed to transfer essential supplies, including food and fuel, into the Palestinian territory, which has been under a crippling Israeli siege for over a decade. The blockade has caused a decline in living standards as well as unprecedented unemployment and poverty. The fresh Israeli campaign of confrontation comes as Palestinian factions Fatah, based in Ramallah, and Hamas, which used to run the Gaza Strip, have reached a national unity deal designed to bridge the political rift between them and to allow Fatah to govern the coastal enclave. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dozens Of Afghan Security Personnel Reported Killed In Taliban Attacks RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan November 14, 2017 Afghan officials say Taliban fighters have stormed more than a dozen security posts in the country's south and west, killing at least 30 members of local security forces. Matiullah Helal, a police spokesman in the southern province of Kandahar, said on November 14 that 22 police officers were killed and 15 others were wounded when the militants stormed 15 security posts in the Maywand and Zhari districts overnight. Helal said that some gunbattles between the attackers and security forces continued until the morning. He said 45 militants were killed and 35 other injured in the fighting. Another police official, Zia Durrani, said none of the checkpoints was captured in the attacks. "Our forces resisted until they received reinforcements and air support," Zia Durrani said. "The Taliban were defeated." The governor of Kandahar's Naway district, Sarajuddin Sarhadi, said five police officers were also killed at checkpoints in his district. Khalid Pashtun, a member of parliament from the region, was quoted as saying that as many as 37 police officers were killed in the attacks in the province. In the western province of Farah, officials said that at least three members of the Afghan security forces and three civilians died in two separate Taliban attacks. Mohammad Naser Mehri, the spokesman for the provincial governor, said 15 militants were also killed in the fighting. A provincial council member for Farah, Jamila Amini, said that one security post fell to the Taliban before it was retaken when Afghan forces received reinforcements and air support. Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi said the group claimed responsibility for the assaults in both provinces. They come as the Western-backed government in Kabul is struggling to beat back insurgents in the wake of the exit of most NATO forces in 2014. The raids in Kandahar and Farah came hours after a suicide attacker rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a U.S. military convoy in Kandahar. A spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said four U.S. service members were injured in the blast. With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-police-killed -taliban-attacks/28852825.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 Rights Group Sees Governments Increasing Social-Media Manipulation, Undermining Democracy Alan Crosby November 14, 2017 Governments worldwide are increasing efforts to manipulate information on social media, undermining democracy and creating an overall decline in Internet freedom, according to Freedom House. In its annual assessment of online freedom called Freedom On The Net 2017, released on November 14, the human rights group said online manipulation and disinformation tactics played an "important role" in elections in at least 18 countries in the past year, including Russia's influencing of the electoral process in the United States. The report said less than one-quarter of Internet users in the 65 countries assessed have access to the web that can be considered "free," meaning there are no major obstacles to access, onerous restrictions on content, or serious violations of user rights through unchecked surveillance or unjust repercussions for legitimate speech. "The use of paid commentators and political bots to spread government propaganda was pioneered by China and Russia but has now gone global," U.S.-based Freedom House President Michael J. Abramowitz said in a statement accompanying the 44-page report. "The effects of these rapidly spreading techniques on democracy and civic activism are potentially devastating," he added. China was the worst offender among the 65 nations assessed, followed by Ethiopia and Syria. Freedom House said that Internet freedom improved in Iran and Uzbekistan, but those countries still had the fourth- and sixth-worst scores respectively. 'Closed Loop' Russia, which ranked 15th-worst, saw a decline in Internet freedom bolstered by the "hypocritical link between state propaganda and legal restrictions on the media," while countries like Belarus, which ranked 18th-worst, disrupted mobile connectivity to prevent live-streamed images from reaching mass audiences. "Governments are now using social media to suppress dissent and advance an antidemocratic agenda," said Sanja Kelly, director of the Freedom on the Net project. "Not only is this manipulation difficult to detect, it is more difficult to combat than other types of censorship, such as website blocking, because it's dispersed and because of the sheer number of people and bots deployed to do it. The fabrication of grassroots support for government policies on social media creates a closed loop in which the regime essentially endorses itself, leaving independent groups and ordinary citizens on the outside," Kelly said. While most governments targeted local public opinion, the report says Russia's campaign to influence the November 2016 U.S. presidential election was a prime example of efforts that had a cross-border impact. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities, the report said, blocked Russia-based services, including the country's most widely used social network and search engine, after Russian agents flooded social media with fabricated stories advancing the Kremlin's narrative. "Governments in a total of 30 countries deployed some form of manipulation to distort online information, up from 23 the previous year," the report said. "Paid commentators, trolls, bots, false news sites, and propaganda outlets were among the techniques used by leaders to inflate their popular support and essentially endorse themselves," it added. Iceland, Estonia, and Canada scored the highest in terms of Internet freedom, while the United States placed fifth. Fake news and the "aggressive trolling" of journalists both during and after the presidential election contributed to a score decline in the United States' otherwise generally free environment, the report said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/freedom-house-rights-group- sees-government-increasing-social-media-manipulation- undermining-democracy/28852623.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 Jeffrey T. Richelson 1949-2017 On November 14, 2017 the National Security Archive mourned the passing of our most senior fellow, Dr. Jeffrey T. Richelson, prolific Freedom of Information Act requester and critically-praised author of extraordinary reference works on intelligence, nuclear weapons, China, terrorism, military uses of space, and espionage. Dr. Richelson passed away on Saturday, November 11, 2017, at his home in Los Angeles after a months-long battle against cancer, according to his brother, Charles. He was 67. Dr. Jeffrey T. Richelson was a Senior Fellow with the National Security Archive, a non-profit research and archival institution located on the campus of the George Washington University in Washington, DC. He directed Archive documentation projects on the organization and operations of the U.S. intelligence community, electronic surveillance, U.S.-China relations, U.S. military space activities, and Presidential national security directives. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Rochester and taught at the University of Texas and the American University. He was also the author of a number of electronic briefing books on intelligence and nuclear terrorism. He was the author of The U.S. Intelligence Community (Boulder: Westview Press, 7th ed., 2015), Defusing Armageddon: Inside NEST, America's Secret Nuclear Bomb Squad (New York: W.W. Norton, 2009), Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea (New York: W.W. Norton, 2006); The Wizards of Langley: Inside the CIA's Directorate of Science and Technology(Boulder: Westview, 2001), America's Space Sentinels: DSP Satellites and National Security (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1999), A Century of Spies: Intelligence in the Twentieth Century (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), and America's Secret Eyes in Space: The US KEYHOLE Spy Satellite Program (New York: Harper & Row, 1990). His articles appeared in Scientific American, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, The International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, International Security, Intelligence and National Security, The Journal of Economic Theory, Public Choice, and other publications. Jeff Richelson enjoyed Andy Warhols predicted 15 minutes of fame occurred in August 2013 when his research intersected with the international obsession with UFOs and Hollywoods favorite secret space, Area 51. Jeffs FOIA request forced declassification of the CIAs internal history of Area 51, describing how senior officials chose the actual desert space in Nevada and then used it to test stolen Soviet MiGs as well as top-secret U.S. stealth aircraft. The NBC Today Show put Jeffs visage into the breakfast rooms of millions of Americans as The George Washington University domain, which at the time hosted the Archives web site, experienced one of its biggest user spikes ever. https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/news/cybervault/2017-11-14/memoriam-jeffrey-t-richelson-1949-2017 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Boss Courting Finland by 'Friends-With-Benefits' Arrangement Sputnik News 12:40 14.11.2017 Amid a drastic spike in pro-NATO rhetoric in non-aligned Finland, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg pledged still closer cooperation with the Nordic country without it having to become a full member of the alliance. The perennial NATO debate always flares up before a presidential election in Finland. This year was no exception, despite the fact that only one presidential candidate actively supports Finland's joining NATO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he did not want to interfere with the Finnish NATO discussion, yet promised the Nordic country even closer cooperation without the necessity of joining the alliance. In an interview with Finnish national broadcaster Yle, Stoltenberg argued that NATO never forces a country to choose its political course. "We respect countries that want full membership, sit down and negotiate with them. But we also respect countries that don't seek membership," Jens Stoltenberg said. In recent years, Finland has stepped up its collaboration with NATO through joint drills and coordinated missions. Together with its neighbor and fellow non-aligned country Sweden, Finland belongs to NATO's closes partner countries. It has been universally admitted that Finland has never had such close cooperation with NATO as today. Finnish troops participate in NATO's war games on a regular basis, whereas Finnish Defense Minister is regularly invited to NATO meetings in Brussels. Finland is also a contributor to NATO-led "crisis management operation" in Afghanistan. However, NATO leader Stoltenberg believes that the Nordic country's involvement with the affairs of the alliance could be further intensified. "We could do even more together. Have more joint drills, develop joint defense capabilities, collaborate in cyber security. Also, the hybrid center recently opened in Helsinki can contribute to further expansion of our cooperation," Stoltenberg argued. A recent poll by Helsingin Sanomat daily indicated, however, 59 percent of Finns say 'No' to NATO. This is consistent with the Defense Ministry's own polls, according to which the Finnish resistance to NATO has unswervingly polled between 60 and 70 percent over the past decade. Jens Stoltenberg, Norway's former prime minister, compared Finns' opposition to NATO to Norway's relation with the EU. While formally retaining its independence from Brussels, Norway is part of the European Economic Agreement (EEA), which gives the Nordic country access to the EU's market, while also imposing requirements on Norwegian legislation. "I think it's a bit like Norway's relation with the EU. There is a big EU resistance in Norway, because we have such close cooperation with the union through various agreements. Perhaps many Finns also prefer close cooperation to membership," Stoltenberg ventured. A number of high-profile Finnish politicians and analysts, including presidential candidate of the Swedish People's Party Nils Torvalds, advocated NATO membership. Former ambassador to Russia Hannu Himanen took the debate to a whole new level by urging his compatriots to submit a NATO application "as soon as possible." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit called for a "formal informal" meeting with senior bureaucrats in Coimbatore and even went for a Swachh Bharat campaign with Minister SP Velumani. Opposition parties are calling this move unconstitutional. By Akshaya Nath: In a surprising gesture, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who is in Coimbatore, called for a "formal informal" meeting with senior bureaucrats in the city and even went for a Swachh Bharat campaign with TN Minister SP Velumani. Governor Purohit, in a meeting, said that he was involved in similar drives and meetings with officials when he was the governor in Assam and Meghalaya as well. advertisement Though SP Velumani and a few others in the state government appreciated the efforts taken up by the governor, opposition parties in the state have slammed the move. DMK spokesperson Manu Sundaram said, "This is unconstitutional. The duties of the governor have been mentioned in the Constitution clearly. Opposition parties in the state have been demanding a floor test and it is part of the governor's profile to call for one. Everyone knows there is no proper functioning of laws in the state. What is the point of a review meeting? Kiran Bedi calling for meetings was also unconstitutional. But in this case, it just cannot be accepted." Political analyst Radhakrishnan said, "This is not the first time that the governor of a state is overstepping his authority. Earlier, Vidhyasagar Rao too did a similar thing by calling a meeting of vice-chancellors of universities. The point is these are not their duties, and the Constitution has clearly listed the responsibilities and duties. Overstepping them is not acceptable". Meanwhile, the TTV Dinakaran faction has said that the BJP connect is the reason behind such a scenario. "It is not just Tamil Nadu. The entire country is having a similar scenario. In Puducherry too, we had seen a similar issue. Not only is this unconstitutional, but also infringing upon the rights of the state government. The present government in Tamil Nadu is not the people's government and they need to go. Incidents like these would have never happened in Amma's regime," said Prasanna Azhagarsami of the Dinakaran faction. Purohit was seen sweeping brooms and cleaning waste along with senior bureaucrats in Coimbatore. He was in Coimbatore for the convocation ceremony of Bharatiar University that happened yesterday, but also went ahead and held his review meeting with district officials, including the collector, city corporation commissioner and police commissioner, besides other senior officials. Governor Purohit will stay in Coimbatore for another day to attend a green programme organised by a farmers' group. He will be launching mass planting of saplings at the event. --- ENDS --- Update: air strikes against Daesh 14 November 2017 The RAF are continuing to take the fight to Daesh in Iraq and Syria. Summary Thursday 9 November - Tornados destroyed a Daesh vehicle and stockpiled supplies in western Iraq. Saturday 11 November Typhoons bombed three IEDs emplaced alongside roads in northern Iraq. Sunday 12 November a Reaper destroyed a truck-bomb in eastern Syria. Detail Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to fly extensive armed reconnaissance patrols across Iraq and Syria to identify remaining Daesh positions and support the Iraqi troops and the Syrian Democratic Forces in their respective ground operations. On Thursday 9 November, two Tornados used a Brimstone missile and two Paveway IVs to destroy a terrorist vehicle and stockpiled supplies in the deserts of western Iraq. A pair of Typhoons patrolled over northern Iraq on Saturday 11 November. Three improvised explosive devices had been identified, dug into embankments alongside roads around twenty miles north-west of Bayji, and the Typhoons were tasked with the safe destruction of these deadly booby-traps. Each was hit in turn with a Paveway IV. The following day, a Reaper remotely piloted aircraft operating over eastern Syria similarly disposed of another booby-trap left behind by the terrorists an armoured truck-bomb parked on the edge of a road some twenty miles south-east of Al Mayadin. This was struck by a GBU-12 guided bomb and destroyed. UK contribution to the fight against Daesh Map of UK forces committed to Operation Shader Campaign against Daesh Map of Daesh losses and gains in Iraq and Syria since September 2014 Previous update Monday 25 September: A Royal Air Force Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled some miles to the north-east of Dayr az Zawr in Syria Its crew tracked two terrorists and conducted a successful attack with a Hellfire missile, then struck a Daesh-held building with a GBU-12 guided bomb. A second Hellfire was employed against a group of terrorists on foot, and a third destroyed a truck carrying more extremists. Two Typhoons flew a mission in the same area and, assisted by the Reaper, delivered an attack with a Paveway IV guided bomb on a position from which rocket-propelled grenades had been fired. Wednesday 27 September: A Reaper continued operations north-east of Dayr az Zawr, where it used a pair of Hellfires against a dispersed group of terrorists armed with rocket-propelled grenades. In Iraq, Tornados and Typhoons responded to reports of Daesh activity several miles south-east of Ramadi. Two groups of terrorists on foot were hit with Paveway IVs, as was a further group manning a trench. A convoy of trucks carrying a large number of terrorists had also been spotted, and our aircraft tracked down and attacked five of these vehicles using a combination of Paveways and Brimstone missiles. Thursday 28 September: North-east of Dayr az Zawr, a Reaper delivered three attacks: Hellfire missiles hit a sniper team and another group of terrorists, whilst a GBU-12 was used to demolish a Daesh-held building. In northern Iraq, Tornados conducted a simultaneous attack with a Paveway IV and a Brimstone on a local terrorist command group who had been identified south of Kirkuk. Friday 29 September: Tornados and Typhoons flew further missions south of Kirkuk when they hit a number of terrorists concealed in woodland, two entrenched positions, and a Daesh-held building. Our aircraft also used a single Paveway IV to destroy a small headquarters located in the hills to the north-east of Tikrit. Saturday 30 September: Two Tornados, armed with Paveway IVs, destroyed a truck-bomb factory located on the southern bank of the Euphrates in western Iraq. Monday 2 October: With Syrian Democratic Forces continuing to fight Daesh to the north-east of Dayr az Zawr, a Royal Air Force Reaper remotely piloted aircraft flew overwatch. An SDF unit reported being engaged in close combat with several terrorists, and the Reaper's crew intervened, successfully targeting the extremists with a Hellfire missile attack. Wednesday 4 October: A flight of Typhoons supported Iraqi forces as they advanced to liberate Hawijah. Our aircraft used Paveway IV guided bombs to remove two threats which the Iraqi troops encountered: a terrorist mortar team, and a truck-bomb which was blocking a road to the north-east of the town. Meanwhile, a pair of Tornados were tasked to deal with a second truck-bomb which had been positioned by terrorists to the north-east of Bayji. The vehicle was destroyed by a direct hit from a Brimstone missile. Thursday 5 October: Intelligence had confirmed that a group of three buildings in eastern Syria, some forty miles south-east of Hasakah and close to a border crossing into Iraq, was being used as a base by Daesh. Two Typhoons conducted a carefully planned attack, each of the three buildings being struck with a Paveway IV. Friday 6 October: a Reaper again patrolled north-east of Dayr az Zawr; its crew delivered attacks with Hellfire missiles on three groups of terrorists, including one manning a heavy weapon, and also supported two further strikes by coalition aircraft. Two Tornados supported the Syrian Democratic Forces inside Raqqa as they cleared remaining terrorist positions in the north-west of the city. Despite the SDF being very close to the target, the Tornados delivered a precision attack with a Paveway on a Daesh group firing from a building. Saturday 7 October: Typhoons also operated over Raqqa, and bombed three further terrorist positions in the north-west of the city. Thursday 12 October: This included two Tornado GR4s providing close air support to the Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqah. A Paveway IV guided bomb was deployed to target the upper storeys of a building from which a Daesh sniper was firing, and a second weapon struck another building from which terrorists were engaged in a combat with the SDF. Monday 9 October: a Reaper spotted a concealed truck-bomb, which allowed a coalition fast jet to destroy it with an accurate strike. The Reaper then dealt with a second such truck-bomb using its own Hellfire missiles, which resulted in a very large secondary explosion when the vehicle was hit, proving the presence of explosives. Tuesday 10 October: a further Reaper armed reconnaissance mission identified a terrorist setting up a machine-gun position; he was killed by a Hellfire shortly after he opened fire. The Reaper's crew used a second Hellfire to destroy an armoured truck manned by several Daesh extremists, again to the north-east of Dayr az Zawr. Thursday 12 October: over western Iraq, another Tornado flight dropped four Paveways on a Daesh camp in the desert, some 60 miles south-west of Ramadi. Friday 13 October: A Reaper was again in action north-east of Dayr az Zawr; its crew observed a mortar being fired from a compound and scored a direct on the position with a Hellfire. The Reaper's crew then provided surveillance support to a coalition air strike on another position in the area. Saturday 14 October: a Reaper successfully engaged one small group of terrorists with a Hellfire, then provided support to two air strikes on further extremists operating on foot nearby. Friday 20 October: a Reaper aircraft operated to the north-east of Dayr az Zawr. Observing a group of armed terrorists taking up position in a building ahead of the Syrian Democratic Forces, it fire a single Hellfire missile scoring a direct hit on the building and eliminating the group inside. Wednesday 25 October: A flight of Tornados was alerted to a group of terrorists who had been spotted concealing themselves in a culvert under a road to the south-east of Dayr az Zawr, close to Syrian Democratic Forces. A Paveway IV guided bomb was used in a successful attack on the entrance to the culvert. Thursday 26 October: two Tornados used Paveway IVs to target a pair of buildings, some 20 miles east of Al Qaim in western Iraq, where a number of extremists were present, with stockpiles of weapons. Both buildings were demolished by direct hits. Friday 27 October: A further Tornado patrol in the area of Al Qaim identified a terrorist supply lorry; it was destroyed with a Brimstone missile. In the Euphrates valley to the west of Ash Shirwaniyah, a second Tornado flight meanwhile used a pair of Paveway IVs to strike a Daesh-held building, then used another Brimstone to knock out an armed truck. Sunday 29 October: Typhoon FGR4s supported the Syrian Democratic Forces south-east of Dayr az Zawr, attacking a terrorist position with a Paveway. In western Iraq, two Tornados conducted simultaneous attacks on a command post and a weapons stockpile, both located some five miles south of Husaybah. Wednesday 1 November: Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s, based at RAF Akrotiri and supported by a Voyager air refuelling tanker, flew an armed reconnaissance patrol over western Iraq. A coalition surveillance aircraft identified a group of terrorists gathered at a command post some miles to the north-west of Al Qaim, close to the Syrian border. Our aircraft attacked using two Paveway IV guided bombs; one demolished the command post building, whilst the second weapon accounted for several terrorists outside, along with their vehicles. Thursday 2 November: Tornados conducted operations in the same area, and successfully bombed a building in which a Daesh observation post was stationed, attempting to direct mortar fire against Iraqi ground forces. Saturday 4 November: two Tornados patrolled the other side of the border, in the far east of Syria. A mortar team was identified north-east of al Mayadin and successfully bombed. The Tornados then used a further Paveway IV to collapse the entrance to a terrorist tunnel nearby. Sunday 5 November: Two flights of Typhoon FGR4s, armed with Paveway IVs, flew similar missions over eastern Syria. One flight eliminated a mortar team near the border town of Abu Kamal, whilst the second pair of Typhoons successfully conducted four phased attacks against a tunnel complex near Al Mayadin. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Suffering deepens in Yemen as border shutdowns enter second week - UN agencies 14 November 2017 A proposal to deliver vitally needed aid to war-ravaged Yemen via smaller ports than those under blockade will not solve the catastrophic humanitarian situation there, a senior UN official said Tuesday. Speaking over the phone to journalists in Geneva, Jamie McGoldrick, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, called for the reopening of the country's major import hubs, Hodeida and Saleef, along with Sana'a airport. Smaller ports such as Aden in southern Yemen and Jazan which is in neighbouring Saudi Arabia lack the capacity to handle the amount of fuel, food and medicines that's needed, Mr McGoldrick said. "Coming from Jazan in the north or coming from Aden in the south to serve the bulk of the population that we have identified, in the northern part of the country, it would be very difficult in many places because of for security issues, because of logistical issues" he said. This would increases the cost of supplies by an estimated $30 per metric tonne "and this is something that would then reduce the amount of money we have to serve the population and right now our humanitarian response plan is only 57 per cent funded," explained Mr. McGoldrick. He said that Yemen has just 20 days' worth of diesel left in the north, and three months' reserves of wheat, adding that while he has heard reports that Aden and other ports were opening, there has been no confirmation of it. The decision to blockade Yemen was taken by the Saudi-led coalition engaged there in a three-year war against Houthi militants, which, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has left more than seven million close to famine and 21 million needing assistance in one of the world's poorest countries. With humanitarian supplies "dangerously low," Mr. McGoldrick warned that keeping famine and disease at bay risks setbacks. Suffering worsens in Yemen With the closure of land, sea and air borders now entering its second week, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed alarm at the worsening humanitarian situation. "Over the past week, the closures have prevented humanitarian and commercial supplies and restricted the movement of aid workers. They are also placing new economic strain on a civilian population already suffering through many months of conflict," said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler at the regular press briefing in Geneva. "As a result," continued Mr. Spindler, "our staff and those of our partners are seeing an increase in the number of civilians seeking humanitarian help. Vulnerable populations including internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers are especially hard-hit." The spokesperson reminded reporters that since the conflict began in March 2015, it has become the world's largest humanitarian crisis, affecting 21 million people. "Two million internally displaced people, a million returnees and 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers are all struggling to survive through increasingly prolonged displacement," he stressed, adding that worsening conditions have also led to child labour and early marriage. "Together with other members of the humanitarian community in Yemen, UNHCR is advocating for the border closures to be lifted without delay. The closures are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, posing a critical threat to the millions struggling to survive," Mr. Spindler concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Security Council maintains partial lifting of arms embargo on Somalia for one year 14 November 2017 The Security Council on Tuesday renewed until 15 November 2018 the partial lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia, authorization for maritime interdiction of illicit arms imports and charcoal exports, and the humanitarian exemption. In the resolution adopted by 11 affirmative votes and four abstentions, the 15-member body requested the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group (SEMG) to continue its investigations related to the export to Somalia of chemicals that may be used as oxidisers in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, such as the precursors ammonium nitrate, potassium chlorate, potassium nitrate and sodium chlorate. Those abstained in the vote were Bolivia, China, Egypt and Russia. Further, the Council extended until 15 December 2018 the mandate of the SEMG, and recognised that during the course of its current and three previous mandates, the SEMG has not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab in Somalia. The Council expressed its intention to keep measures on Eritrea under regular review, in light of the upcoming midterm update by the SEMG due by 30 April 2018. Recalling the three meetings between an Eritrean government representative and the SEMG, the Council reiterated its expectation that Eritrea's Government will facilitate the entry of the SEMG into Eritrea to discharge fully its mandate. The Council urged Eritrea and Djibouti to engage on the issue of the Djiboutian combatants missing in action and to seek all available solutions to settle their border dispute peacefully. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kosovo: Time for action overtakes time for excuses, UN envoy tells Security Council 14 November 2017 Noting recent momentum to advance democracy and good governance in Kosovo, the head of the United Nations Mission there urged for more emphasis on rebuilding trust and reconciliation, including through engagement with women and the youth, as well as on overcoming challenges related to freedom of cultural and religious identity. "With the end of the election cycle, the time for action now moves ahead of the time for excuse," Zahir Tanin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), told the Security Council Tuesday. "It is important that the potential for embarking on a sustainable peace process not be hindered by inflexibility or simple inaction," he added, calling all parties to play their part in the process. In his briefing, Mr. Tanin informed the Security Council that 40 new judges and 13 new state prosecutors from the Serb community were sworn into office in Kosovo, who would work as part of a unitary Kosovo justice system. He, however, noted that the implementation of agreements made in 2013 and earlier, continue, at best, to be sporadic and variable. "Within the framework of the European Union (EU)-facilitated dialogue, technical implementation needs more meaningful commitment from both sides," said the UN envoy, noting that the most obvious gap is the lack of progress towards the implementation of the agreed Community/Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Regarding Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the UNMIK said that Pristina representatives attend all CEFTA meetings, and that UNMIK's participation is limited to the requirements of the legal statutes. "This participation continues strictly to the extent required by CEFTA members to ensure its functionality, which in turn supports economic opportunity throughout the region," he said, noting the importance of economic and employment opportunities as well as addressing corruption, ensuring public accountability at all levels and combatting organized criminality. "The final objective of [UNMIK] remains clear, with your support: sustained peace, and the opportunities it brings for individuals to fulfil their aspirations and their potential," concluded Mr. Tanin. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Several Explosions Heard in Zimbabwe Capital VOA NewsNovember 14, 2017 At least three explosions, as well as heavy gunfire, were heard in the Zimbabwe capital of Harare early Wednesday, according to local witnesses. Witnesses also said military vehicles and soldiers were on the streets early Wednesday, hours after soldiers took over Zimbabwe's state broadcaster, ZBC. Local residents said instead of the usual 11 p.m. newscast, music videos were played instead. A spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Harare told VOA the streets appeared calm overnight Wednesday and had no confirmed sightings of military vehicles. The embassy warned Americans via its web site to "shelter in their residences" and work from home on Wednesday. They said the embassy will be minimally staffed and closed to the public. On Tuesday, Zimbabwe's ruling party has accused the armed forces chief of "treasonable conduct" after he threatened to intervene in the country's political affairs. The statement from the ZANU-PF party was released amid worries that the military might be taking action to oust longtime President Robert Mugabe. Witnesses reported tanks and armed personnel carriers moving on roads outside the capital; however, Harare was calm and embassies issued no security alerts for their citizens. A spokesman for the State Department told VOA, "We are aware of the reports and are monitoring the situation." The current tension was sparked last week when Mugabe fired his deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and accused him of disloyalty and plotting to seize power. Many observers saw the move as a step toward the installation of Mugabe's wife, Grace Mugabe, as vice president. That would put the first lady in position to become president when her 93-year-old husband retires or dies. At a Monday news conference, the head of Zimbabwe's armed forces, General Constantino Chiwenga, warned he would "step in" unless Mugabe stopped trying to purge the ruling ZANU-PF party of Mnangagwa supporters. Dozens have been arrested since the vice president was fired on November 5. Tuesday's ZANU-PF statement, signed by party information secretary Simon Khaya Moyo, said that Chiwenga's comments were "clearly calculated to disturb national peace and stability" and meant to "incite insurrection and violent challenge to the Constitutional Order." President Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe since the country won independence from Britain in 1980. Mnangagwa, 75, was seen for years as a likely successor to the president, and maintains strong backing in the army. He is now believed to be in South Africa. Grace Mugabe, 52, has support in the party's youth wing and is believed to have engineered the firing of another vice president, Joice Mujuru, in 2014. VOA's Cindy Saine, Anita Powell, Kenneth Schwartz contributed to this report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sessions Rejects Accusations He Lied About Not Knowing of Trump Campaign Links to Russia By Ken Bredemeier, Chris Hannas November 14, 2017 U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday rejected accusations that he had lied to lawmakers when he previously testified he knew of no contacts Donald Trump's election campaign had last year with Russian operatives. Sessions told the House Judiciary Committee he had no recollection of a 2016 meeting with Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos, who discussed his contacts with people who said they could arrange a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, until recent news reports showed he had chaired the meeting. "In all of my testimony, I can only do my best to answer all of your questions as I understand them and to the best of my memory," Sessions said. "But I will not accept and reject accusations that I have ever lied under oath. That is a lie." Since his last appearance before a congressional panel in mid-October, news surfaced that Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty in early October to lying to federal agents investigating Trump campaign links to Russia and is cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller's criminal investigation. Prosecutors said in court records that at a March 2016 meeting, about seven months before the presidential election, Papadopoulos told Sessions, Trump and others that he had connections that could arrange the Trump-Putin meeting. Sessions said he "pushed back" against Papadopoulos's idea and the Trump-Putin meeting never occurred in the midst of the campaign. At his January confirmation hearing to become attorney general, the top U.S. law enforcement position, Sessions said he was unaware of communications between the campaign and Russia, but later acknowledged he himself had met then Russia's then-ambassador to Washington, Sergei Kislyak. Sessions attributed his failure to remember the Papadopoulos meeting, as well as a contact with Carter Page, another Trump aide who was making overtures to Russia, to the chaos of the Trump campaign. "It was a brilliant campaign in many ways," Sessions said. "But it was a form of chaos every day from day one. We traveled all the time, sometimes to several places in one day. Sleep was in short supply." One Sessions critic, Democratic Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, told the Senate on Monday, "Attorney General Sessions has misrepresented the truth ... time and time again." Sessions also defended his directive for senior federal prosecutors to examine issues raised by Republican lawmakers connected to Trump's election challenger, Democrat Hillary Clinton. So far, however, Sessions has declined to appoint a new special counsel to examine the Republican claims related to Clinton. He told the committee that it "looks like" there "is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel." He said if there are any new probes, they would be conducted "without political influence. They will be done properly." Committee chairman Rep. Robert Goodlatte asked Sessions in July and September to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of collusion between Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee, issues linked to her use of a private email system while serving as secretary of state, contributions to her family's Clinton Foundation, and an Obama-era purchase of American uranium mines by a Russian-backed company. The letter also asked for an examination of certain aspects of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd responded in a letter to Goodlatte on Monday that prosecutors would report directly to Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein "as appropriate" and recommend whether any investigations should be opened or expanded. He further pledged the Justice Department "will never evaluate any matter except on the facts and the law." Trump, as president, has regularly attacked Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign, as well as congressional probes. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded in a January report that Putin directed an effort to help Trump's chances of winning and undermine American democracy. Trump has repeatedly called for more law enforcement scrutiny of Clinton. "Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn't looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems...'' Trump tweeted last month. The president's comments and the move by Sessions to consider appointment of a new special prosecutor brought complaints from Democrats about executive interference with the judicial branch. "If the AG bends to pressure from President Trump and his allies, and appoints a special counsel to investigate Trump's vanquished rival, it could spell the end of the DOJ as an independent institution," Rep. Adam Schiff said on Twitter. Rep. Gregory Meeks said the attorney general's actions were a "political smokescreen" meant to distract from collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. "The President & Sessions just politicized the Dept. of Justice, trampling on this country's sacred rule of law," Meeks tweeted. Rep. Andy Biggs, who was one of the Republicans who signed onto Goodlatte's letter, said the Justice Department's response is "encouraging," but not as decisive as the lawmakers would have liked. "We must have an unbiased, independent special counsel to investigate the matters we have raised. We have spent long enough on meaningless evaluations and empty promises," Biggs said in a statement. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Cambodian Strongman's Trump Outreach Falls Flat By David Boyle November 14, 2017 The White House has resisted gushing overtures Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen made this week to U.S. President Donald Trump in Manila, issuing a stiff rebuke Tuesday to the strongman over his moves to dismantle Cambodia's democracy. Hun Sen lavished praise on Trump the day before, declaring him "a great man to me," while beseeching the U.S. president to muzzle criticism of his ongoing crackdown on civil society, the press and the opposition. The Cambodian premier extolled Trump's "non-interference" foreign affairs policy at the ASEAN summit in Manila, in a speech that came as Hun Sen continues to accuse the U.S. embassy of leading a plot to topple his government. He made the same accusation to justify jailing opposition leader Kem Sokha while moving to dissolve Kem Sokha's Cambodia National Rescue Party. In a statement on Tuesday, the White House said Matt Pottinger, the senior director for Asian affairs and Patrick Murphy, deputy assistant secretary of state for Southeast Asia, had met with Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn on the sidelines of the recent East Asia Summit in Manila. "Expressing their interest in supporting the future success of Cambodia, the U.S. side forthrightly expressed strong concerns about recent steps that challenge the country's democratic progress, including restrictions on the free press, civil society, and the political opposition," the statement said. "U.S. participants noted that unfounded accusations and criticisms of the United States, including U.S. diplomats in Cambodia, contradict the spirit of improved and productive bilateral relations between our two countries," it added. The statement also noted substantial U.S. foreign assistance in "building a democratic system and achieving progress on prosperity, peace, and reconciliation" but said nothing of Hun Sen's request for Trump to reconsider Cambodia's $500 million debt to Washington that dates to the Vietnam War. Members of Hun Sen's delegation declined to speak with VOA reporters in Manila about the statement, and relevant spokesmen in Phnom Penh could not be reached. In a speech at the summit on Monday, Hun Sen said, "I think your excellency [President Trump] is a great person who I respect the most," according to an unofficial translation of the speech in which he also boasted that he had predicted Trump's victory, before turning to domestic matters. He also asserted Cambodia repeatedly had been victimized by the U.S. "because of actions of your subordinating officials who practice against your policy lines. At this point, I think maybe you have a duty to admonish the officials because this is a great principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the people." On Thursday, Cambodia's courts are set to decide if the opposition CNRP should be dissolved under draconian legislation for allegedly conspiring to overthrow the government in a plot with the U.S. embassy. Hun Sen has said it is a certainty Cambodia's nominally independent Supreme Court will rule against the CNRP. Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Monday ordered provincial and city governors across the country to form working groups that will monitor treasonous activity beginning the day before the CNRP dissolution ruling. Late last month, Defense Minister Tea Banh, who has threatened to smash the teeth of political protesters, told a newly established military intervention force to "take action immediately without asking advice from the top" against any movement demanding the release of Kem Sokha. Military commanders have issued statements in recent months threatening to crush and exterminate those they accuse of fomenting revolution, including "invading foreigners." Beneath a photo posted to the Facebook wall of Hun Sen, in which he shakes hands with Trump at the summit as the president gives the thumbs up, former Foreign Minister Hor Namhong commented that it was better to "meet its boss rather than talk to the slaves." Sebastian Strangio, author of Hun Sen's Cambodia, said Hun Sen had attempted to go above the president's own bureaucracies and that the White House and State Department "couldn't really let that slide." "I think putting out the statement is just their way of signaling subtle displeasure with that hamfisted attempt by Hun Sen to appeal to Donald Trump's vanity," he said. Some U.S. senators and EU parliamentarians have begun pushing for punitive actions against Hun Sen's government, such as targeted sanctions and travel bans in response to the jailing of Kem Sokha. Others have stressed the elections will not be recognized if the opposition is dissolved. In his speech, Hun Sen also implored Trump to reconsider the terms of some $500 million his government owes the United States. The debt dates to the secret U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnamese supply routes inside Cambodia in the early 1970s. Estimates vary but the bombings are believed to have killed tens of thousands of Cambodians and destroyed large swaths of farmland. The U.S. loaned the country's government money at the time to pay for food. The U.S. bombings were later considered illegal because they were carried out without the approval of the U.S. Congress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Before High-Level Discussions, US Aims to Strengthen Ties to Africa By Vincent Makori, Salem Solomon November 14, 2017 U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will welcome 37 African foreign ministers to Washington later this week in the largest African foreign policy event to date under President Donald Trump. The event on November 16 and 17 will include discussions on trade and investment, counterterrorism, and good governance. In addition to the ministerial attendees, African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat and other A.U. representatives will attend. Acting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Yamamoto told VOA's Africa 54 the goal is to craft policy that goes beyond aid to build mutually beneficial partnerships. "If you look at the United States and our approach to not just Africa, but in the other regions of the world, it's a much more multidimensional, very complex approach," Yamamoto said. "It is not just only humanitarian assistance, but also developing capacity infrastructure, and also we're looking at capacity building. In other words, we're looking at how we can have sustainable economic growth." Yamamoto said the meeting will focus on preparing for the future. By the year 2100, Africa is projected to be the most-populous continent in the world with 2.2 billion people. About 70 percent of its population is under 30, and this "youth bulge" can either be a blessing or a curse, depending on how the continent prepares. "What's the potential for unemployment, and do we have enough job creation to meet those needs?" Yamamoto asked. "A stronger Africa means a stronger America and a stronger world." Security, counter-terrorism Africa unexpectedly came to the forefront of the Trump administration's foreign policy last month with the killing of four Green Berets in a remote village in Niger. Following the attack, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, said, "The war is headed to Africa. It's beginning to morph. As we suppress the enemy in the Mideast, they are going to move." In the near term, the United States will continue to play a lead role in training African partner nations. U.S. forces have trained thousands of African soldiers in the past 10 years. Working with local partners, the United States has helped upgrade security and facilitate coordination across nations to guard against Boko Haram, Islamic State, drug trafficking and other threats, according to Yamamoto. In the long term, however, security will come from economic growth and prosperity, Yamamoto said. To ensure this, the United States wants to discuss strategies for reducing debt and eliminating barriers to trade within the continent. "If we break down non-tariff trade barriers and barriers that prevent trade from happening between the countries, then what we are going to see is not only expansion of investments in trade and opportunities, but also economic growth, and that could be the spark, the basis for other trade and development," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zimbabwe - Robert Mugabe Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwes founding father and first post-war leader, died 06 September 2019 aged 95, Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe either as prime minister or president since 1980 when he was first elected into power on a wave of euphoria and hope after leading his liberation army to victory against the countrys white minority rulers. At the time, he was heralded as a revolutionary hero throughout Africa in an era when Zimbabwes neighbour South Africa was still living under the divisive apartheid system. But the optimism that marked those early years was soon forgotten as the revolutionary leader turned tyrant, killing opposition supporters in their hundreds and eventually leading his country to the brink of ruin. Robert Mugabe resigned as president of Zimbabwe on 21 November 2017, ending almost four decades of rule. The announcement came as parliament began an impeachment process to remove the 93-year-old from power. The military surrounded government offices and the parliament and took control of the state broadcaster. An army spokesman said it was "not a military takeover," but an attempt to bring "justice" to Mugabe's aides who were "causing social and economic suffering." After the military takeover, Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement saying: "We are paying close attention to developments of the situation in Zimbabwe. Maintaining peaceful and stable development accords with the fundamental interests of Zimbabwe and regional countries. Geng Shuang, the foreign ministry spokesman who issued the statement continued, saying: "We hope the relevant parties in Zimbabwe appropriately handle their internal matters." The head of the African Union said on 16 November 2017 that the body will never accept the military coup d'etat in Zimbabwe. We demand respect for the Constitution, a return to the constitutional order and we will never accept the military coup d'etat, Alpha Conde said. Robert Gabriel Mugabe was born in Matibiri village near Kutama Jesuit Mission in Zvimba district on 21 February 1924. His father Robert Matibili (Malawian) was a carpenter left for South Africa and then to Bulawayo to look for work and never came back. Robert's mother Bona Mugabe was left with the burden of taking care of him alone. He is the third born of six children. He has two older brothers Michael and Raphael, young brother Donato and two sisters Bridget and Sabina. He married Sally Mugabe near Hayfron in 1961 and together they had one son Michael Nhamodzenyika who died in his infancy. Sally died of kidney failure in 1992. Mugabe then married his secretary Grace Mugabe in 1996. The couple had three children who are Bona Mugabe, Robert Mugabe Junior and Bellamine Chatunga. When President Robert Mugabe married Grace she appeared to many people as a trophy wife. She had a life as a farmer, businesswoman and orphanages operator. Mugabes rise from just a herd boy to become president was not an overnight thing but a difficult road punctuated with prison, suffering, hunger, tears and blood. Mugabes love for books did not end during his time as a boy as he went on to become a teacher before acquiring a degree from Fort Hare University in South Africa. He also taught in Ghana before returning home to enter politics. During his time in prison between 1964 and 1975, Mugabe also studied and acquired more university degrees. Although a professed Marxist, Mugabe had a reputation as a political pragmatist whose particular skill was as an organizer. Until his release from prison with Sithole and Nkomo in 1974, however, he was little known outside the inner circles of the nationalist movement. Mugabe had been a teacher in Roman Catholic schools in Rhodesia and later in newly independent Ghana. He became the NDP's public relations officer in 1960 and, as the deputy secretary general of ZAPU, had gone to Dar es Salaam with Nkomo. Aligning himself with Sithole, Mugabe had then become ZANU's secretary general and Sithole's rival for power within the new organization. In 1980 parliamentary elections Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), party of Prime Minister Robert Mugabe, received fifty-seven-seat majority in House of Assembly; Joshua Nkomo's Patriotic Front-Zimbabwe African People's Union (PF-ZAPU) won twenty seats; twenty white seats divided among Ian Smith'; Rhodesian Front (in 1981 renamed Republican Front) and independents; Abel Muzorewa's United African National Council (UANC) attained three seats. Mugabe, avowed Marxist and early advocate of socialist reform, was asked to form the first government and lead it as prime minister. President Canaan Banana, a Methodist minster who had vigorously opposed Rhodesia's racial injustice, would serve as head of state. Despite ZANU-PF's early reputation as the most radical of the political parties involved in the 1980 elections, white Zimbabweans' fears of a Marxist takeover did immediately materialize during the early years of national independence. Instead the government adhered generally to Mugabe's announced policies of reconciliation, reconstruction, and moderate socioeconomic change. Many of Mugabe's critics were surprised by the pragmatic manner in which the prime minister has sought to deal with his country's problems. Reconciliation and national unity, however, were difficult to achieve in a state where legacies of diversity and intolerance are still apparent. Political rivalry that has grown out of historical interethnic tension between the population's Shona speakers and Ndebele speakers has not been laid to rest, nor has the distrust that existed between the young black-governed republic. By 1982 the Mugabe government had become increasingly preoccupied with conspiracy theories, chief of which was a charge that the government in Pretoria had undertaken a determined campaign to destabilize its Zimbabwean counterpart because white South Africans could not tolerate success in a multiracial society so close to its own territory. Concern was also mounting over the perceived domestic threat attributed to "dissidents," the term used to denote disgruntled former ZIPRA soldiers and members of rival Joshua Nkomo's Patriotic Front-Zimbabwe African People's Union. Mugabe's ailments include periodic convulsions and stroke-like episodes (perhaps eschemia) brought on by diabetes and a lipid disorder which affects the covering of the brain. He apparently suffered one of these episodes in late 2003, although he never left the country. Mugabe reportedly could be revived rather quickly on such occasions but does need to be under constant observation since he can fall or suffocate during the episode. Evidence on the nature of Mugabe's health-related "episode" during the weekend of October 25-26 and whether he left the country for medical treatment remained conflicting and inconclusive. Mugabe has openly admitted that he has for years been suffering from cataracts which affected his right eye. For this, he regularly travelled to Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore for medical check ups and treatment. Mugabe has been visiting Singapore for treatment since 2011, but his trips have been increasing with each passing year, suggesting a deteriorating health condition. There are rumors circulating in local media that Mugabe also suffered from chronic prostate cancer which usually affects people of old age. The rumors began to circulate after his Singapore tour in 2014, where he is said to have visited Parkway Cancer Centre, which offers comprehensive cancer treatment with a highly skilled, multi-disciplinary team comprising consultant medical specialists, nurses, counsellors and other para-medical professionals to meet the specific needs of cancer patients. In April 2016 veterans pledged their loyalty to Mugabe, but also presented a list of grievances and demands for top positions in government and state-owned firms, diplomatic posts and at least a fifth of all farmland and mining concessions. The veterans, 30,000 in total, also want their monthly allowances increased from $260. But Mugabe said the government would only meet such demands if it had the resources. The last time Mugabe caved into demands from veterans was on Nov. 14 1997 when the Zimbabwean dollar crashed by 72 percent after the government announced unbudgeted allowances for veterans. That day became known as 'Black Friday.' But without balance of payment support or foreign credit, Zimbabwe cannot afford such demands. It already runs its budget hand-to-mouth, leaving it with no money for infrastructure. At the ZANU-PF annual conference in December 2015, the party once again endorsed Robert Mugabe as its presidential candidate in the 2018 national elections. A Zimbabwean government spokesman said 14 January 2016 that President Robert Mugabe was in good health, dismissing an online report that he suffered a heart attack. Presidential spokesman George Charamba told reporters that the report by the website ZimEye was false. He said, "This is the way the website seeks to improve its hits in order to get dirty money from Google. There is a financial incentive to the grim lie." The Zanu PF Youth League said 21 February 2016 that celebrating President Robert Mugabes birthday was like celebrating that of Jesus Christ, claiming both were sent to free the people. Responding to questions on whether it was proper for the ruling party to take its festivities to Masvingo, where thousands face starvation due to drought, Zanu PF youth league secretary, Pupurai Togarepi said Mugabes birthday will be celebrated even in a war situation in recognition of the great works he has done to free the people. We wont force anyone, people who are paying know how the party operates and no one was forced. The birthday is important, it is like the birth of Jesus, who was born to rescue us, the same way President Mugabe was born in 1924 to free all of us, including you journalists to start writing like you are doing now, he said. Zimbabwe's 92-year-old leader returned home 03 September 2016 amid rumors his health is failing. Rumors about Mugabe's health were common. Robert Mugabe's plane touched down at the main airport in the capital, Harare, after Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, went to Dubai to seek medical attention. Zimbabweans were growing increasingly frustrated with Mugabe and his failure to fix the economy. Mugabe, who was a leader in the independence movement, had been in power since 1980. Robert Mugabe is a Zimbabwean revolutionary and statesman who has been President of the Republic of Zimbabwe since 1987, and the prime minister of Zimbabwe since the attainment of independence until 1980. He is co-founder of the ZANU-PF. Mugabe was viewed as both a ruthless dictator and champion of the previously marginalised interest of the majority black people. Unquestioning loyalty remains more than ever the principal criterion for inclusion in Mugabe's world. The uncritical slavish devotion demanded by his isolated world underlies the ruling party's dysfunctional policy-making and likely assures Zimbabwe's continued political stalemate as long as Mugabe is in charge. The president, who had ruled Zimbabwe since 1980, had shown signs of age. In 2015, he was caught on camera tripping and falling down a flight of stairs at Harare airport. In September 2015, he read a speech to parliament, apparently unaware he had delivered the same address a month earlier. Mugabe's long tenure and advanced age led to concerns about what will happen to the presidency after his death. In June 2015 Mugabe left an indelible stamp on the African Union (AU) as he served as its rotating chairman. At the end of the continental body's 25th summit, he showed that yet again. In one rambling, hour-long, seemingly continuous sentence, he spoke about everything from his childhood raising cattle to his feelings about journalists, to his sentiments about women's place in society as well as his thoughts on international politics. Some critics of Zimbabwe's leader said he was not on top of his game, and that at the age of 91 he should finally retire. But Mugabe, who struggled to not fall asleep mid-sentence during his 1 a.m. soliloquy at the end of the summit, was quick to dispute that and blamed journalists for depicting him negatively. Mugabe, who resigned from his post as president 21 NOvember 2017, received immunity and a guarantee of safety as part of a deal that led to his resignation. Mugabe, aged 93, planned to live the rest of his days in Zimbabwe and was stern in saying that he would not live in exile. Mugabes lasting legacy was epitomised by British author Andrew Norman in his book, Robert Mugabe and the Betrayal of Zimbabwe. Instead of leading his people to the promised land, Mugabe on the one hand amassed a fortune for himself, his family and his followers and on the other hand presided over the deliberate murder, torture and starvation of those who opposed him. In short Mugabe betrayed his people, Norman wrote. But even Morgan Tsvangirai, who was eventually appointed as Prime Minister to appease the opposition, admitted judging Mugabe was not a simple task. Speaking in 2010 he said: You must understand this man has got a split personality - from being a hero to being the villain the international community would like to define him as. I cannot defend what he did over the last ten years in terms of violence but there is also a positive contribution to our country that he made. He was a national liberation leader. But others have been less sympathetic. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was reported as saying Mugabe became the typical African dictator and something of a "cartoon figure". NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US playing catch-up with China in space race: USAF general Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 11:36AM The United States has fallen behind China in "operationalizing space," says a high-ranking US Air Force general, calling for a more aggressive and less bureaucratic approach to catch up. Lieutenant General Steve Kwast, the commander and president of Air University at the Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, told CNBC that China's space program could cause a national security problem for America. "In my best military judgment, China is on a 10-year journey to operationalize space. We're on a 50-year journey," the general said, according to Breitbart report on Monday. "We could be on a five-year journey because it's all about how aggressively we are going about this journey." Kwast said Washington needed to "bring together the right talent to accelerate the journey." One way to do so, he said, was by cutting down on government regulations and bureaucratic measures that slowed down space programs, specially for private companies like Space X. "You have to detail everything in your suitcase each item's material, manufacturer, weight and more the government takes a year to go through it and then tells you what you can and can't take," Kwast said. "If you have to update your request, then you have to start all over." In March, US President Donald Trump signed a bill securing funding required for NASA to send a "crewed mission to Mars in the 2030s." This is while, China has planned to land a vehicle on Mars by 2020. China's space force, N Korea's missiles Elsewhere, the USAF general described China's plans for a space force as well as North Korea's ability to destroy US assets in the space as two real challenges that the US was faced with. "China is working on building a 'navy in space' that would work even beyond Earth's gravity," Kwast said, referring to 2015 Washington Post reports about China's alleged readiness for space warfare. Citing military analysts, Times claimed back then that China was actively testing anti-satellite missiles and near-space hypersonic vehicles. Kwast also implied that North Korea had obtained technology required to target American satellites orbiting the Earth. "Right now, if North Korea were to launch a missile into space and detonate an electromagnetic pulse, it would take out our eyes in space," he warned. The statements came amid tensions between the US and the North over Pyongyang's ballistic missile and nuclear weapon programs. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Acting on a tip-off, police rescued the girl on November 4 and arrested the four men, a senior official said. By PTI, Press Trust of India: A teenage girl was allegedly kidnapped and raped by four persons for ten days at a lodge here, police said today. Acting on a tip-off, police rescued the girl on November 4 and arrested the four men, a senior official said. "We have arrested all the four accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act for kidnapping and gang-raping the teenaged girl for ten days," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Whiefield) Abdul Ahad told PTI. advertisement Three of the accused, in the age group of 22 to 25 years, are friends. The fourth accused is the 55-year-old lodge operator, he said. The prime accused, who runs a tea shop at Whitefield, had befriended the girl and took her to the lodge on October 26 and committed the crime, Ahad said. The girls father had on October 30 lodged a missing complaint with K R Puram police. --- ENDS --- Russia, Kazakhstan Offered Baikonur Space Center Cooperation to UAE - Roscosmos Sputnik News 09:42 14.11.2017(updated 10:31 14.11.2017) United Arab Emirates Space Agency and Russia's space corporation Roscosmos plan to create a joint technical committee for the implementation of space projects. DUBAI (Sputnik) Roscosmos chief Igor Komarov told Sputnik that Russia's space corporation Roscosmos and its Kazakh colleagues have offered the United Arab Emirates Space Agency use of the Baikonur space center for launch services. Additionally, he proposed that the countries work together to develop ground infrastructure, prepare experts for space travel and establish technology parks. Earlier it was reported that during the International Congress of Astronautics, representatives of the UAE discussed the possibility of cooperation in the training of cosmonauts with Roscosmos, in order to send them to the ISS aboard Soyuz spacecrafts. Currently, the UAE is choosing between the cosmonaut training centers in the US, EU and Russia. "We are discussing this issue with everyone, but would prefer to train future cosmonauts in Russia, since they use Russian spacecraft," director general of the UAE Space Agency said earlier. Roscosmos considers it possible to send the first astronauts from the United Arab Emirates to the International Space Station in either 2021 or 2022, Igor Komarov added. Also, he noted that Russia's space corporation is planning to send a three-member crew to the Russian segment of the International Space Station. "The decrease in crew members was a temporary step. Next year module launches will begin and of course a full crew is needed to prepare the modules for work. So starting from next wear we will transition to a full crew," Komarov said. A two-person crew is currently working on the ISS. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address North Korea could come to talks while suspending nukes: South Korea Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 07:11PM South Korean President Moon Jae-in has indicated that talks with North Korea could begin without requiring the regime in Pyongyang to destroy its nuclear arsenal as a precondition. "If talks begin to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue, I feel it will be realistically difficult for North Korea to completely destroy its nuclear capabilities when their nuclear and missile arsenal are at a developed stage," Moon said in a press conference in the Philippines where he is attending a regional summit. The South Korean leader said there was no need to force North Korea to destroy its nukes before coming to talks, saying the regime can halt the program and then start denuclearization. "If so, North Korea's nuclear program should be suspended, and negotiations could go on to pursue complete denuclearization," he said, adding that negotiations with Pyongyang could be held with all options open. The remarks come against a backdrop of calls by Japan and the US that suggest that talks with the North would go nowhere. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday at the same gathering of leaders from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Forum in Manila that North Korea was still developing its missile program despite a two-month pause seen in the firing of long-range missiles from the country. Abe said that was enough to believe that holding talks with the North would be useless. "There is no point for talks for the sake of talks," he said, adding, "I believe that it continues to develop its weapons." Abe, like US president Donald Trump, is on the opinion that more and more sanctions should be imposed on North Korea to soften up its government. Trump has also traded threats with North Korean government officials, saying time for talking with Pyongyang, a policy that his predecessors pursued, was over. The stand-off over North Korea escalated in July when it test-fired two intercontinental ballistic missiles that experts say can reach the mainland United States. Pyongyang also carried out its most powerful nuclear test in August, prompting the US and allies to pile more economic and military pressures on the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Why Iran Quietly Abolished Death Penalty For Some Drug Crimes Frud Bezhan November 14, 2017 Iran has some of the toughest antidrug laws in the world, with authorities handing out the death sentence to offenders trafficking or possessing as little as 30 grams of hard drugs like heroin or cocaine. So it was a major turnaround when the parliament and the Guardians Council, the powerful clerical body that must approve all proposed legislation, abolished the death penalty for some drug-related crimes. The amendments to the law, which came into effect on November 14, increase the threshold for the use of the death penalty. Capital punishment is reserved for those charged with trafficking 2 kilograms of hard drugs or more than 50 kilograms of cannabis or opium. The death sentence still applies for repeat offenders and lethal drug-related offences. The changes to the decades-old laws -- expected to curb the number of executions in the Islamic republic, which has one of the highest rates of capital punishment in the world -- have been driven by both international and domestic factors. 'Political Win' President Hassan Rohani, a relative moderate who is early in his second term, has pledged to bring about a general "openness" in Iran, but his efforts to open up political and social space have been contained by hard-liners in the clerical system: the supreme leader, the judiciary, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). "The Rohani government wants to show some movement on social and political issues, and so it has pushed the drugs case," says Scott Lucas, an Iran specialist at Birmingham University in Britain and editor of the EA World View website. "With Rohani being constrained on so many political and social questions, it raised the incentive to give him a political win." Ali Vaez, a senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG), says the move is a "volte-face" and could give Iran an image boost abroad, where it has been accused by Washington of egregious rights violations and by the United States and Mideast rivals of sponsoring terrorism, and has come under pressure over its ballistic-missile program. "The government would surely welcome any measure that could counter the broad campaign by Iran's adversaries to further demonize it," Vaez says. Domestic Critics There have been growing calls in Iran to ease the use of capital punishment for drug-related offenses. Critics say the extensive use of the death penalty -- including frequent mass hangings that the public is encouraged to attend -- has done little to stop drug use and trafficking in the country, which is on a major transit route for drugs smuggled from Afghanistan. "[There's a] realization by the Iranian authorities that executions have not been an effective solution to drug trafficking," says researcher Tara Sepehri Far of Human Rights Watch (HRW), which opposes the death penalty. "Several Iranian officials have also spoken about the negative impact of executions on families." In November 2016, Hassan Nowruzi, a spokesman for the parliament's Judicial Committee, said 5,000 people were on death row for drug-related offenses, the majority of them aged 20-30. He said most were first-time offenders. A month earlier, more than 150 lawmakers in the 290-member legislature called for a halt to the execution of petty drug traffickers. Lawmakers also suggested that capital punishment should be abolished for those who become involved in drug trafficking out of desperation or poverty. In August, Mohammad Baqer Olfat, the deputy head of the judiciary's department for social affairs, said the death penalty had not deterred drug trafficking; in fact, he said, it was on the rise. Rather than the death penalty, he suggested, traffickers should be given long prison terms with hard labor. International Pressure Iran has been under mounting international pressure to curb its executions. Human rights groups say Iran executed at least 567 people in 2016 and nearly 1,000 in 2015, including a number of migrants from Afghanistan, where the majority of illicit drugs come into Iran. Iranian officials said 70 percent of all executions in the country were for drug-related offenses. While HRW's Far says it is "disappointing" that the changes do not abolish the death penalty for all nonviolent drug offenses, the move is a "step in the right direction that can potentially save hundreds from death row." "The sustained international pressure by human rights organizations and UN bodies about the alarming rate of executions in [Iran] has definitely had an impact," Far added. Magdalena Mughrabi, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International (AI), which is staunchly anti-death-penalty, said that although the changes "may contribute to a drop in the number of executions, it will still condemn scores of people every year to the gallows for offenses that must never attract the death penalty under international law." Afghan officials and human rights groups have been among the most vocal in calling for reform to Iran's antidrug laws. Thousands of Afghans involved in the illicit narcotics trade have ended up in Iranian prisons and have been executed. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium, which is used to make heroin, and Iran is a major transit route for the drug to western Asia and Europe. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-death-penalty-quietly- abolished-drug-crimes/28853642.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 Erbil says to comply with Iraq's integrity IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Erbil, Nov 14, IRNA -- The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government has said it would remain committed to Iraq's integrity and decisions made by the country's Federal Supreme Court. In a statement issued on Monday, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government said it will follow the legal solutions based on the Iraqi Constitution to find a settlement to the disputes concerning the range of the authority of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the central government. The statement, however, fails to announce the results of a September 25 separatist referendum void, which is contrary to the preconditions set by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the start of talks with Erbil. Reiterating its support for any plan, particularly the plan proposed by Grand Ayaollah Ali Sistani, to bring a solution to the problems, the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government said it respects and complies with the interpretation of Article 1 of the Iraqi Constitution by Iraq's Federal Supreme Court. The statement underlines that the process is the only way to preserve the Iraqi integrity. Translated by: Ahmad Mohammadi 9341**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iraq's Kurdistan says respects secession ban ruling Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 10:51AM Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) says it abides by a recent top court ruling that bans any secession from the mainland, expressing hope that the decision will set the stage for dialog between Baghdad and Erbil. In a statement released on Tuesday, the KRG conceded that it would respect the November 6 Supreme Federal Court order that stated no region or province could break away from Iraq. "We believe that this decision must become a basis for starting an inclusive national dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad to resolve all disputes through implementation of all constitutional articles and in a way that guarantees all rights, authorities and status mentioned in the constitution," the statement read. The court ruling came in response to a request from the central government in Baghdad to end any "wrong misinterpretation" of the Iraqi constitution and assert the country's unity. It followed a controversial referendum on the secession of the Kurdish region, which was held on September 25 in defiance of strong objection from both Baghdad and Iraq's neighbors, particularly Iran and Turkey. The plebiscite sparked tensions between the KRG and Baghdad, with the Iraqi army conducting a military campaign to retake the areas overrun by the Kurdish militants in the course of the fight with the Daesh terrorist group. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had previously called on the Kurdish region to honor the court ruling. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Myanmar military denies accounts of violence against Rohingya Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 06:53PM Myanmar's military has denied widespread accounts of violence, including murder, rape and destruction of property, against the persecuted Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine state. In an internal report released Monday, the military blamed the violence on the members of an armed group, now calling itself the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), which it said had attacked 30 police posts and an army battalion headquarters on August 25. "Security forces did not commit shooting at innocent villagers and sexual violence and rape cases against women. They did not arrest, beat and kill the villagers," the report said. Posted on the military's official Facebook page, the report also cleared security forces of robbing the Rohingya, as well as burning their mosques and villages. Amnesty International described the report as an attempt by the military to "sweep serious violations against the Rohingya under the carpet." "There is overwhelming evidence that the military has murdered and raped Rohingya and burned their villages to the ground," the UK-based international rights group said. "After recording countless stories of horror and using satellite analysis to track the growing devastation we can only reach one conclusion: these attacks amount to crimes against humanity." In a CNN report published Monday, Mumtaz, a Rohingya refugee woman from the village of Tula Toli in western Myanmar, described surviving mass killings and rape before reaching the relative safety of the camps, where conditions are dire. "They killed and killed and piled the bodies up high. It was like cut bamboo," said Mumtaz, who woke up to find herself on a mound of charred bodies. "In the pile there was someone's neck, someone's head, someone's leg. I was able to come out, I don't know how," she added. On Sunday, a UN official, who had toured the refugee camps in Bangladesh, accused the military of conducting organized rape and other crimes against humanity in Rakhine. In a rare move, Myanmar's military recently arranged a helicopter trip for foreign media to Maungdaw district, which is now a landscape devoid of people. The region, with the emerald paddy fields scarred by the blackened patches of destroyed Rohingya villages, is the epicenter of a crisis that erupted in late August. More than 600,000 Rohingya have fled the predominantly-Buddhist country of Myanmar to Bangladesh since August 25, when a crackdown on the Rohingya intensified in Rakhine. The government has been engaged in a campaign against the minority, which the UN and human rights groups have called "a textbook example of ethnic cleansing." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN warns of trafficking, sexual abuse in shadow of Rohingya refugee crisis 14 November 2017 Human trafficking and exploitation are rife among Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar to seek safety in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, the United Nations migration agency has found. "Understanding the scope of human trafficking is difficult in most settings due to the hidden nature of the crime," said Kateryna Ardanyan, a counter-trafficking expert of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in a press release issued Tuesday. "In the chaos of a crisis like this, trafficking is usually invisible at first, as there are so many other urgent needs like food and shelter. But agencies responding to this crisis should not wait until the number of identified victims increases," she added. According to interviews and community focus groups conducted in the district's makeshift settlements by IOM, desperate men, women and children are being recruited with false offers of paid work in various industries including fishing, small commerce, begging and, in the case of girls, domestic work. With almost no alternative source of income, the refugees are willing to take whatever opportunities they are presented with, even ones that are risky, dangerous and that involve their children. Once they start the job, they usually find that they are not paid what was promised. They are often deprived of sleep, made to work more hours than was agreed, not allowed to leave their work premises and not allowed to contact their family. Women and girls are often physically or sexually abused. Some report being forced into jobs which they never agreed to do. In one case, a number of adolescent girls, who were promised work as domestic helpers in Cox's Bazar and Chittagong, were forced into prostitution. Others reported being brought to locations different from the agreed destination. In one case, a woman reportedly went to work for a family and was brought back to the settlements dead. The family of the victim received a settlement from the employers. Many of the recruiters are Bangladeshi, while some are Rohingya, and many were established in the area prior to the most recent influx. The number of criminals and trafficking rings operating in the district has expanded with the population. The abuse mainly occurs in neighbourhoods surrounding the settlements, but recruiters are also taking people to places as far away as Cox's Bazar city, Chittagong and Dhaka. IOM is also aware of cases where Rohingya have been trafficked to outside Bangladesh, and is assisting the victims. Most of the trafficking is taking place inside the country, which follows the pattern of trafficking globally. Forced and early marriages are also taking place among the Rohingya population. For many families, it is a coping mechanism that offers protection and economic advancement for young Rohingya women and girls. "Rohingya refugees need preventative and proactive action now to mitigate risks of human trafficking, and the survivors need help, before this spirals out of control," Ms. Ardanyan said. Over 617,000 Rohingya refugees have settled in Cox's Bazar since 25 August, but exploitation of the Rohingya population in the district has been occurring since well before this most recent influx of people. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Expectations High for Tillerson to Press Myanmar on Rohingya Crisis By Joe Freeman November 14, 2017 The plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled violence in Myanmar was more of a footnote than a focus when U.S. President Donald Trump mingled with Southeast Asian leaders in the Philippines. But U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to address the issue head on in a visit to Myanmar on Wednesday as calls mount for the Trump administration to adopt a stronger stance on the crisis. Moe Thuzar, a fellow with the Singapore-based ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute, told VOA the visit would signal a continuation of U.S. policy towards Myanmar and an indication that Trump's administration is interested in the country as part of its overall policy towards Asia. Though this is Tillerson's first visit to the country and represents the most high-level outreach of the administration to date, he spoke with Aung San Suu Kyi, who serves as State Counselor and Foreign Minister, by phone in September. Tillerson, who was also able to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi on the sidelines of overlapping summits Tuesday in Manila, will hold talks with her and army chief Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyitaw. Call for action More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have left Myanmar's Rakhine State since August 25, after insurgents attacked security forces and prompted a brutal military crackdown that has been described as ethnic cleansing. Stating last month that "the world can't just stand idly by" to allegations of atrocities against the Rohingya, Tillerson made a point of placing responsibility on Burma's military instead of the State Counselor, who must share power with the institution after leading her party to election victory in 2015. Though Aung San Suu Kyi has been criticized for sidestepping allegations of abuses, many Western governments have been reluctant to ostracize her during a fragile transition to democracy. During Tillerson's meetings he plans to express concerns over the displacement and violence against the Rohingya population, according to a senior state department official who described Aung San Suu Kyi as being eager to come up with solutions. Tillerson will also reiterate support for Myanmar, urge the government to protect local populations, push for unfettered access to northern Rakhine State for a credible investigation of abuses, and encourage the government to create safe conditions to allow refugees to return to their homes. While U.S. lawmakers have proposed legislation to introduce targeted sanctions against military interests, the Trump administration has yet to embrace the measures. And even though he spoke with Min Aung Hlaing in late October to voice concerns about the violence, Tillerson has resisted describing it as ethnic cleansing. Mark Farmaner, director of the London-based Burma Campaign UK, said the Trump administration has done "very little to pressure either the government or the military in Burma over the Rohingya crisis," and the visit will send important signals one way or the other. "Failing to take a strong stance will be interpreted as weakness by the military, and seen as a green light to continue abuses," Farmaner said. "Tillerson has to make clear to Aung San Suu Kyi that her government must stop its policy of denial and commit to giving Rohingya full citizenship if it wants continued support from the U.S." Other issues Benedict Rogers, a human rights activist and the East Asia team leader with Christian Solidarity Worldwide, said the United States and the international community should also confront separate, but related, problems. "It is very important that, while focusing on the current crisis in Rakhine State and urging the military to stop its campaign of ethnic cleansing, Secretary Tillerson also addresses Myanmar's other challenges, in particular the conflict in Kachin and northern Shan states and the suffering of civilians in those areas, and religious intolerance in the country as a whole." Myanmar's government has repeatedly rejected claims that atrocities, including rape and extrajudicial killings, are occurring in northern Rakhine, the epicenter of the violence. Authorities blame the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, the poorly armed insurgents who first emerged with deadly attacks in October 2016 that killed at least nine border guard officials, followed by a similarly deadly operation in August. The military said in a Facebook post this week that hundreds of terrorists had been killed, but the armed forces did not target civilians. "The security forces were only fighting against the ARSA Bengali terrorists. They never shot at the innocent Bengalis," the post read in part. Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya and denies them citizenship, referring to them as "Bengali" to imply origins in Bangladesh. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lawmaker Says Media Rejecting 'Foreign Agent' Label Would 'Stop Working' In Russia RFE/RL November 14, 2017 Foreign-funded media outlets that refuse to register as foreign agents under legislation drafted by Russian lawmakers will be ejected from the country, a senior legislator says. State Duma deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoi described the draft legislation to the Interfax news agency on November 14, a day after state-funded Russian channel RT announced that it had registered under the U.S. foreign agent law. Moscow alleges that RT and state-funded news agency Sputnik have come under increasing pressure in the United States in the past year, and has vowed to respond by targeting U.S. media in Russia. In the weeks since RT said the U.S. Justice Department had instructed it to register under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA), Russia has been working on legislation that would enable it to designate foreign-funded media "foreign agents." Amendments that would serve that purpose "are ready," Interfax quoted Tolstoi, who was tapped by Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin last week to coordinate the efforts in the lower parliament house, as saying. As Tolstoi described them, the amendments to Russian legislation governing the media would enable the government to label any foreign-based or foreign-funded media outlet a "foreign agent." Media outlets that are "registered in another state or receive financial or other resources from foreign structures...or from Russian companies with foreign financing may be deemed foreign agents regardless of their organizational or legal form," he said. Tolstoi said that media outlets that refuse requests to register "will stop working on the territory of the Russian Federation." Russian news agencies cited Tolstoi as saying the Duma could pass the amendments on November 15 and send them to the upper house, which has promised to address them swiftly. They would then go to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. The scope of Russia's current "foreign agents" law, which Kremlin critics and civil-society activists say has been used to silence dissent and discourage a free exchange of ideas, does not include media outlets. A senior lawmaker from the ruling United Russia party, Andrei Isayev, said on November 13 that Radio/Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Voice of America (VOA), CNN, and German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle were among media organizations that could be declared foreign agents in Russia once the legislation is in place. The developments come as ties between the United States continue to be severely strained over issues including Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine and its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on November 14 that "our relations are degrading day after day" and "have reached the lowest point in recent decades," but added that "we still have contacts and can discuss certain issues." RT and Sputnik have been accused by U.S. intelligence agencies of spreading disinformation as part of a Russian government effort to influence the election. U.S. officials say that Russian law regarding foreign agents differs from FARA, which was passed in 1938 specifically to counter fears of Nazi propaganda and disinformation being spread in the United States. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said last month that the need for registration under FARA "is simply triggered when an entity or an individual engages in political activity." Russia's moves to take action against U.S. media come ahead of a March 2018 presidential election in which Putin is widely expected to seek a new six-year term. The Kremlin's control over the media and political levers, along with his popularity, make his victory a foregone conclusion, but he would be constitutionally barred from running again in 2024. With reporting by Interfax , RIA, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-tolstoi-rt-foreign- agent-law-rfe-voa-cnnn/28853274.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 Kremlin opposes double interpretation of Putin-Trump statement on Syria People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 11:06, November 13, 2017 MOSCOW, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Any double interpretation of the latest joint statement on Syriaby Russian President Vladimir Putinand his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump would be inappropriate, the Kremlin said Sunday. According to the statement, the two heads of state agreed to maintain open channels of communication between the two militaries to help ensure the safety of U.S. and Russian forces engaged in the fight against Islamic States until its final defeat. The statement was at first agreed at the level of experts and then agreed between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, before finally being approved by the two presidents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying. "There is no need to comment on anything. There is the text of the statement, which is available for reading. That is why double interpretation is inappropriate," Peskov said. On Saturday, Putin and Trump issued a joint statement about Russia-U.S. cooperation on Syria after their short meeting on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting in Da Nang, Vietnam. Russia and the U.S.-led coalition are backing separate offensives against IS in Syria, with both advancing in oil-rich Deir al-Zour province in the east of the war-torn country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By PTI: By Aditi Khanna London, Nov 15 (PTI) Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May today called on MPs from all sides of the political spectrum to "come together" to deliver Brexit. As she faced the House of Commons for her weekly Prime Ministers Questions, May also defended the right of her Conservative party MPs to express their disagreements over the crucial EU Withdrawal Bill, a key part of the UK governments strategy for leaving the European Union following last years referendum in favour of Brexit. advertisement "There is, of course, a lively debate going on in this place and thats right and proper and thats important," she said. In reference to the bill, which formally converts all EU legislation into UK law,Acurrently undergoing a line by line scrutiny in the committee stage of the parliamentary process, she indicated being open to changes. "What we are doing, as a government, is listening to the contributions that are being made. We are listening carefully to those who wish to improve the Bill," May said. "I hope we can all come together to deliver on the decision that the country took that we should leave the European Union," she said. Her comments came after rebel MPs from within the Conservative party made it clear that they have every intention to oppose Downing Streets bid to enshrine in law the precise date of Brexit ? March 29, 2019. As many as 15 Tories have been identified as among the rebellious group that plans to vote with the Opposition Labour party and were characterised as the "Brexit mutineers" on a front-page story by The Daily Telegraph today. The front page itself became a subject of discussion in Parliament, when one of those named by the newspaper blamed it for triggering threatening tweets that have now been referred to police. Anna Soubry, the Tory MP for Broxtowe and an outspoken critic of the EU Withdrawal Bill, asked Speaker John Bercow to "make it very clear to everybody, in whatever capacity, that they have an absolute duty to report responsibly and make sure they use language that brings our country together and makes sure that we have a democracy that welcomes free speech and an attitude of tolerance". Bercow said any such threats were "repugnant", and "doomed to fail". Other MPs also piled on an attack against the newspapers stance, with Brexit minister Steve Baker describing it as "media attempts to divide our party" and Heidi Allen MP saying that "if fighting for the best possible future for our country and our government is considered mutiny ? then bring it on". advertisement The government faces its first major bruising defeat over the bill by next week, when the group of rebel Tories could vote against Mays refusal to put the EUs Charter of Fundamental Rights in UK law. Passage of government legislation became a precarious task for May when her Conservative party lost its majority in the snap general election held in June this year. The Tory majority in the Commons is dependent on the support of 10 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs, which would be lost if her own party MPs began voting against the government. Meanwhile, the debate on the EU Withdrawal Bill will continue through this week but a key vote on the Brexit date amendment is not expected until next month. PTI AK MRJ --- ENDS --- Presence of Iranian military advisors in Syria legitimate: Lavrov Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 09:35PM Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stressed that the presence of Iranian military advisors in Syria is "legitimate." On Tuesday, Lavrov denied any talks between Moscow and Washington over the withdrawal of Iranian advisors, stressing that no such promise had been made. Iran, along with Russia, has a military advisory mission in Syria aimed at strengthening its army on the battlefield against terrorism. Moscow has also been providing air cover to Syria's ground offensives. Syrian forces are also receiving assistance from fighters of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement. On Saturday, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin affirmed joint efforts to stabilize the war-torn Arab country as the foreign-backed militancy dies down. Parts of the efforts are said to be the expansion of the July truce in the southwestern triangle bordering Israel and Jordan. Lavrov further accused Washington of suppurating foreign terrorists and armed opposition groups, saying US even tried to spare the terrorists in the town of Bukamal, on the border between Syria and Iraq. "The US air force tried to prevent a Russian air strike against Daesh in the Bukamal, region in Syria near the Iraqi border," he said. Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry has accused the US of only pretending to fight terrorism in the Middle East, saying it has "conclusive evidence" that Washington provides air cover for Daesh in Syria. Backed by their allies, Syrian government forces have managed to deal heavy blows to terrorist groups, which have been wreaking havoc on the Arab nation since early 2011. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Damascus slams US military presence in Syria as aggression Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 05:12PM Syria has strongly condemned the US military presence in the country, describing such a deployment as an act of aggression since it does not have any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate. "The presence of the US troops or any foreign military contingent in Syria, without the consent of the Syrian government, constitutes an act of aggression, an attack on the country's sovereignty and a flagrant violation of United Nations principles," Syria's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement released on Tuesday. The statement came a day after US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said, "We are not going to just walk away right now" before the UN-sponsored peace talks yield results. The Syrian foreign ministry "categorically rejected" the comments. It said Mattis's comments expose the subversive agenda of the US administration, and its "clear" collusion with Daesh and other terrorist groups in addition to its constant quest to thwart all efforts aimed at finding a solution to the current Syrian crisis. The United States seeks to inflame tensions in the Middle East region in favor of the Israeli regime and impose its hegemony on regional countries and resources, the Syrian foreign ministry stated. "Linking the US's presence in Syria to a settlement process is just a pretext and an attempt to justify this presence," the statement pointed out. It added, "The United States and others will not be able to impose any solution with military pressure on the contrary, this presence will only prolong and complicate the crisis." The statement then demanded the "immediate and unconditional withdrawal of US forces" from Syrian territory. Seven previous rounds of UN-backed peace negotiations between representatives of the Syrian government and delegates from foreign-sponsored armed opposition have failed to produce concrete results. A new round of talks is scheduled to take place from November 28, with UN special envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura heading them. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia accuses US of providing air cover for Daesh in Syria Iran Press TV Tue Nov 14, 2017 02:40PM The Russian Defense Ministry has accused the US of only pretending to fight terrorism in the Middle East, saying it has "conclusive evidence" that Washington provides air cover for Daesh in Syria. In a Tuesday statement, the ministry said the US air force has sought to hinder Russian strikes on Daesh Takfiri terrorists near the Syrian town of al-Bukamal. "These facts are conclusive evidence that the United States, while imitating an uncompromising fight against international terrorism for the global community, in fact provides cover for Islamic State units," the statement pointed out. Moscow and Washington support opposing sides in the Syrian conflict. Russia assists the Syrian government and has been carrying out an aerial bombardment campaign against terrorist positions in Syria. The US-led coalition has been conducting airstrikes against what are said to be Daesh targets inside Syria since September 2014 without any authorization from the Damascus government or a UN mandate. The military alliance has repeatedly been accused of targeting and killing civilians. It has also been largely incapable of achieving its declared goal of destroying Daesh. In early October, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the US forces of providing intelligence to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in eastern Syria, saying Washington's "flirtation" with the terrorists is the "main obstacle" to eradicate Daesh in Syria. The accusations came after a group of Syrian forces came under a series of attacks by Daesh in the province of Dayr al-Zawr, where Syria is trying to push the terrorists out of their last strongholds in the region. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks on the Syrian government forces had come from an area near the border with Jordan where the US maintains a military mission. The ministry noted that Daesh had the precise coordinates of the Syrian forces before the attack and that such information could only have been obtained through aerial reconnaissance. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russia Shows Video-Game Footage As Evidence Of U.S. 'Cover' For IS Carl Schreck November 14, 2017 The Russian military has released what it called "irrefutable evidence" that the United States is providing cover for Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria in order to "promote American interests." But there were problems with the images Moscow presented on November 14 alongside its accusations as proof: One was taken from a video game, while the others were taken from old footage from Iraq. The accusations published on social media by Russia's Defense Ministry came on the heels of a BBC report that found U.S.-led coalition forces allowed hundreds of IS fighters to leave the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa. The ministry's November 14 statement on Facebook accused the U.S.-led coalition of similarly allowing IS militants to flee the eastern Syrian city of Albu Kamal and interfering with Russian strikes on the fighters. The statement, which it teased on Twitter, included several images that the ministry said showed IS vehicles leaving Albu Kamal for the Syrian-Iraqi border on November 9. But Twitter users, including the investigative groups Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) and Bellingcat, noted that something was off: One of the images was identical to footage from a 2015 promotional video for a mobile video game called AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron. CIT also found that the other images released by the ministry in its statement were taken from Iraqi Defense Ministry videos about anti-IS operations near Fallujah in 2016. The ministry subsequently deleted both the original English-language Facebook post and tweet containing the images, but not before the one from the video game was broadcast by Russian state television. Later in the day, the ministry replaced its Russian-language statement with an English-language one that also cited "irrefutable evidence" that the United States was "covering" IS units to "recover their combat capabilities, redeploy, and use them to promote" U.S. interests in the Middle East. Comments under the ministry's updated Facebook post, which did not include the original images, were often caustic and searing. "Hey, guys, what form do I need to fill out for a tax rebate to get back the money I paid that was accidentally spent so the Defense Ministry could play AC-130 Simulator?" one commenter wrote. One Twitter user posted a screenshot from the iconic 1980s video game Frogger with the same caption used by the ministry: "ISIS automobile convoy leaves A[l]bu Kamal for Syrian-Iraqi border (November 9, 2017)." The Russian Defense Ministry said later on November 14 that it was investigating a "civilian employee" of one of its departments who "mistakenly attached" the images to the statement, state news agencies reported. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on November 14 that Moscow had "a lot of questions" about U.S. commitment to defeating IS militants in Syria, citing what he called "U.S. attempts to spare terrorists" in Albu Kamal and Raqqa, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Escape From Raqqa The BBC report about the exodus of IS fighters from Raqqa cited the U.S.-led coalition, known as Operation Inherent Resolve, as confirming that a deal allowing their flight had been struck between "local leaders on the ground" and that Western officials did not take "active part" in the talks. "This goes to the heart of our strategy, 'by, with, and through' local leaders on the ground. It comes down to Syrians -- they are the ones fighting and dying, they get to make the decisions regarding operations," the BBC quoted coalition spokesman Ryan Dillon as saying. Newsweek on November 14 quoted the coalition as saying that it did not "make deals with terrorists" and denying the BBC's claim that it was involved in a "secret deal" with IS militants." The coalition said last month that an agreement had been made to evacuate civilians from Raqqa, adding that the deal "purportedly excludes foreign [IS] terrorists." "We do not condone any arrangement that allows [IS] terrorists to escape Raqqa without facing justice, only to resurface somewhere else," the coalition's director of operations, U.S. Brigadier General Jonathan Braga, said at the time. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-military- uses-video-game-images-to-prove-us-helped -islamic-state/28853776.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 Damascus: Uninvited US Presence in Syria Constitutes Act of Aggression Sputnik News 17:23 14.11.2017(updated 22:40 14.11.2017) The Syrian Foreign Ministry has commented on the remarks by the Pentagon chief who said that the presence of the United States in Syria had been approved by the United Nations as Washington is fighting Daesh terrorists. On Tuesday, the Syrian Foreign Ministry commented on US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis' statements about the US presence in Syria, who said that US forces won't leave the Middle East country until they achieve their goals there. "Syria once again declares that the presence of American forces or any other military presence in Syria without the consent of the Syrian government is an aggressive violation of Syria's sovereignty and a flagrant contravention of the UN's foundations," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in response to Mattis. Meanwhile, on Monday, James Mattis said that the presence of the United States in Syria had been approved by the United Nations as Washington was engaged in the fight against Daesh terrorists. The US-led coalition comprising 70 nations and has waged fight against Daesh targets in the Middle East. The strikes in Iraq are conducted with the support of Baghdad, but those in Syria are authorized neither by Damascus nor by the UN Security Council. The US administration has yet to receive the Congress' approval for conducting any military operations abroad, but this rule is constantly violated. The prolonged fight against terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya is explained by the fact that Congress allowed the Pentagon to fight Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump says U.S. won't end arms sales to Taiwan: report ROC Central News Agency 2017/11/14 12:02:03 Washington, Nov. 13 (CNA) U.S. President Donald Trump made clear to Beijing last week that Washington will not end arms sales to Taiwan and will continue to furnish it with defensive weapons, a conservative online media outlet in the United States has reported. Citing a senior White House official who took part in Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping () in Beijing, the Washington Free Beacon said the Chinese side "obliquely" raised its opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during talks between the two presidents. There were no discussions of issuing a fourth U.S.-China communique on Taiwan or talk of a "grand bargain" with China to resolve the Taiwan issue, the official told the Free Beacon. "The president spoke of our one China policy based on the three communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, so we're going to continue providing defensive weapons commensurate with our obligations under the law," the official was quoted as saying. Trump arrived in China Nov. 8 as part of a 12-day Asian tour. At a joint press conference the following day, neither Trump nor Xi mentioned Taiwan but according to China's official Xinhua news agency, the issue was raised during the meeting between the two leaders. "The Taiwan issue is the most important, most sensitive core issue in China-U.S. relations and is the political basis for the China-U.S. relationship," Xi told Trump, according to Xinhua. "China hopes that the U.S. will continue to abide by the 'one China' principle." In response, Trump assured Xi that the U.S. government would continue to uphold its "one China" policy, according to the Xinhua report. At the joint press conference, Trump focused more on the North Korea issue, urging Xi to do more in that regard. (By Chiang Chin-yeh and Y.F. Low) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Erdogan Affirms Intent To Buy Russian Missile Defense Systems RFE/RL November 14, 2017 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed his country's interest in purchasing a missile defense system from Russia despite concern about the deal among Ankara's NATO allies. "We attach great importance to the joint steps Turkey and Russia will take on defense," Erdogan said after several hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Sochi on November 13. Turkey recently agreed to purchase the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in a move seen as a snub by some NATO allies, which pointed out that the weapon cannot be integrated into the alliance's defenses. Although Turkey confirmed that it was going ahead with the missile deal, worth around $2 billion, it is not expected to take delivery of the systems for another two years. The purchase from Russia opens Ankara up to the possibility of coming under U.S. sanctions recently announced against Russia's defense industry. But Pentagon officials have said they are in talks with Ankara to try to avoid that outcome. Syrian Peace Efforts Erdogan and Putin said they had a "productive" meeting discussing efforts to end the conflict in Syria, where the two nations are on opposing sides but have been co-sponsoring peace talks in Kazakhstan. "Our joint work with Turkey and Iran has brought concrete results," Putin said. "Violence has abated, and favorable conditions have been created for advancing an inter-Syrian dialogue under the UN auspices." Putin reportedly briefed Erdogan on an agreement he reached with U.S. Donald Trump on Syria in Asia over the weekend that said both countries were committed to reviving long-stalled UN peace negotiations. After meeting with Erdogan, Putin said: "We are united in the need to increase efforts to ensure the long-term stabilization [of Syria], above all to advance the process of a political settlement." "We agreed that there is now a base which allows us to focus on the political process," Erdogan said. Separately, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States would forge ahead with its fight against the Islamic State extremist group in Syria until a UN peace process makes further headway. "We're not just going to walk away right now until the Geneva Process has traction," he told reporters in Washington. "You need to do something about this mess now, not just fight the military part of it and then say good luck on the rest." "We are going to make sure we set the conditions for a diplomatic solution," Mattis said. With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-buy-russian- missile-defense-erdogan-putin/28852788.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 Threat of Jihadist Exodus Spurs Security Crackdown in Turkey By Dorian Jones November 14, 2017 With the Islamic State and other jihadist groups facing imminent defeat in Syria, Ankara is becoming increasingly concerned that many fighters will escape into Turkey. In the past few years over 300 people have been killed in attacks in Turkey, blamed on jihadists. But with the prospect of thousands more militants escaping Syria to Turkey, security forces are now embarked in a desperate battle to thwart the threat, with hundreds of arrests in the past few weeks. The size of threat faced is considerable, thousands Islamic state militants are still believed to be active in Syria. Over 10,000 jihadists, including many linked to Al Qaeda affiliated groups, remain holed up in the Syrian Idlib enclave bordering Turkey. "Potentially (the) jihadist threats, its huge, it's extremely grave, it's extremely important," warns Haldun Solmazturk head of the Ankara research group 21st Century Turkey Institute. "Jihad ,the sacred war, is something endless for them," he says. " It will never end until the whole world, not only Turkey, not only Syria, but the whole world comes under the control or rule of an Islamic caliphate. So it doesn't make any difference for them to fight within Syria, in Idlib or Turkey as long as they find the ground and the space and the opportunity to fight." In 2015, Islamic State militants were blamed for Turkey's most deadly terror attack when two suicide bombers killed 109 people and wounded more than 500 at a peace rally in the capital, Ankara. Last year, Istanbul's main international airport was hit by a coordinated jihadist attack that killed 45. But questions are now being raised about the speed of the response by the Turkish security forces to the threat of returning jihadists. "Nine hundred of them (jihadists) came to Turkey. Nobody has asked them any questions. None of them were incarcerated," said Soli Ozel, an International relations expert at Istanbul's Kadir Has University. "They were not interrogated and two of them with Austrian passports were (trying) to blow a major shopping mall to pieces." Last month's thwarted strike on an Istanbul shopping mall was timed to coincide with Turkey's celebrations marking the anniversary of the founding of the secular republic and could have been one of most deadly attacks by jihadists. The attackers were planning to remotely detonate bombs in the mall and then carry out suicide attacks as shoppers fled the building. Thwarting the bombings is a triumph by security forces, who caught all the jihadists just before they launched their attack. A security source says the group had been under surveillance for weeks. Source said all those involved had been detained. "Thankfully, thankfully the Turkish security forces and intelligence worked really well there," said Ozel and he points to signs that Turkish authorities are well aware of the danger. "We will have a major problem with these returning ISIS militants. The Turkish security forces and intelligence, they must now realize this, otherwise I don't think they would have caught these guys, I think since Reina, the anti ISIS operations are far more serious than they may have been," he said. Last year's Islamic State attack on New Year's Eve revelers at Istanbul's internationally famous Reina night club sent shock waves across Turkey and around the world because most of the 35 dead were foreign nationals. The attack dealt another blow to the country's already beleaguered tourism industry. This year has seen security forces cracking down harder on jihadists, and in just the past few weeks, hundreds were detained across the country. The nationwide arrests highlights the scope of the threat faced by Turkey and the reality of the number of Turks who sympathize with the jihadists. Some observers contend that Ankara is reaping a bitter harvest for previous policies. The Turkish government was repeatedly criticized by western allies for ignoring jihadists' operations during the early years of the Syrian civil war. Ankara robustly backed rebels fighting the Syrian regime and, critics claim, paid little attention to the affiliation of the fighters passing through Turkey to Syria. "In a sense,Turkey shackled itself by supporting these jihadist elements in Syria. So, in a sense this is a trap Turkey put itself in," asserts Solmazturk. "They (jihadists) have had a network an underground organization within Turkey for years and it will be very difficult if not impossible to eliminate them altogether in the short to medium term," he said. Turkish security forces are expected to intensify their crackdown on jihadist groups. The army has been deployed in the Syrian Idlib enclave as part of a Moscow- backed "de-escalation zone" aimed to bring stability in the region and prevent any mass exodus into Turkey. Analyst say Turkey's European allies probably hope those efforts will succeed because many jihadists are from Europe. Turkey is a gatekeeper to those jihadists seeking to return to Europe, and Ankara will likely remind European neighbors that it is working hard to protect them as well as itself. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.K. PM Says Russia Will Not Succeed In 'Sowing Discord In West' RFE/RL November 14, 2017 Russia's efforts to sow discord in the West will not succeed, and they already are prompting Western allies to work together to counter Moscow's meddling, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has said. In an annual address to the Lord Mayor's Banquet in London late on November 13. May cited a list of recent Russian actions that she said "threaten the international order," from Moscow's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Crimea in 2014 to its recent attempts to "weaponize information" through cyberattacks and leaks in Europe and the United States. Moscow is "deploying its state-run media organizations to plant fake stories and photo-shopped images in an attempt to sow discord in the West and undermine our institutions," she said. "So I have a very simple message for Russia. We know what you are doing. And you will not succeed." May told Russia: "You underestimate the resilience of our democracies, the enduring attraction of free and open societies, and the commitment of Western nations to the alliances that bind us." May's blunt language targeting the Kremlin contrasted with U.S. President Donald Trump's friendly remarks over the weekend about Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Trump said told him Russia did not meddle in last year's U.S. presidential election as U.S. intelligence agencies have claimed. 'Another Way' Despite having to navigate a difficult exit from the European Union mandated by a close referendum vote last year that British agencies are now investigating amid allegations of Russian interference, May in her speech sought to reaffirm Britain's ties with the EU. She said London "will take the necessary actions to counter Russian activity" through the NATO alliance and other ties. "The U.K. will remain unconditionally committed to maintaining Europe's security," she said. Even as Britain exits the EU, she added, "the comprehensive new economic partnership we seek will underpin our shared commitment to open economies and free societies in the face of those who seek to undermine them." She also vowed to strengthen cybersecurity and tighten financial rules to stop the "profits of corruption" from being invested in Britain by Russian oligarchs. At the same time, May said Britain must stay engaged with Russia. She noted that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson will visit Moscow in coming months. "We do not want to return to the Cold War, or to be in a state of perpetual confrontation," she said, adding that there is "another way." "Many of us here looked at a post-Soviet Russia with hope...because we know that a strong and prosperous Russia which plays by the rules would be in the interests of the United Kingdom, Europe, and the world," she said. "Russia can, and I hope one day will, choose this different path," she said. "But for as long as Russia does not, we will act together to protect our interests and the international order on which they depend." With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/britain-theresa -may-russia-meddling-will-not-succeed-sow-discord- western-allies/28852533.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 U.S., Russia Envoys Differ On Peace And Peacekeepers In Eastern Ukraine RFE/RL November 14, 2017 After talks on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, U.S. and Russian envoys say their countries have "different concepts for how to make peace" but will continue to work to achieve that goal. "Both sides agreed to reflect on the discussions...and to think about further ways to address this challenge," said a joint statement released by the U.S. Embassy in Moscow after special envoy Kurt Volker and Kremlin aide Vladislav Surkov met on November 13. It said the meeting in Belgrade included a "thorough discussion of the current diplomatic state of play concerning efforts to end the war" between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Volker had indicated before the meeting that it would focus on the possibility of an international peacekeeping force being deployed in the parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces that are held by Russia-backed separatists. After the meeting, Surkov said that the U.S. side presented 29 paragraphs containing its proposals on a Russian plan for peacekeepers, Russian news agencies reported. "Our delegation came to the conclusion that three of them were acceptable," Surkov said, adding that the parties decided to continue the work to bring their positions closer. Discussions about deploying a peacekeeping force have heated up since September, when Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed deploying UN peacekeepers along the line separating Ukrainian government forces and the Russia-backed separatists. The plan swiftly drew criticism from both Kyiv and the West, largely because of concerns that deployment only along the front line would cement Russian control over separatist-held territory and do nothing to stop Russia from sending fighters and weapons into Ukraine. Putin later said he was open to adjustments to his initial proposal, but no agreement has been reached. 'Discussion Of Principles' Fighting between Kyiv government forces and Russia-backed separatists who hold parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed more than 10,000 people since April 2014. Several cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed to resolve the conflict -- have reduced fighting but not stopped it. "There has always been a need for a combination of political and security measures to be taken under Minsk," the statement by Volker and Surkov said. "Both sides agreed to reflect on the discussions today and to think about further ways to address this challenge." Ahead of the Belgrade talks, Volker said he would meet Surkov for a "discussion of principles" to see if they can agree on what a peacekeeping force might look like. "We are not in agreement on this yet," he told reporters in Washington on November 3. The U.S. envoy said that Washington wants the mission to monitor the entire conflict area and make sure heavy weapons are pulled back. Volker and Surkov earlier held talks on October 7 in Belgrade and on August 21 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. Belgrade is a neutral venue. Volker had refused to meet with Surkov in Russia, and Surkov is barred from the European Union under sanctions imposed in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Tillerson appointed Volker, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations in July. Meanwhile, a top U.S. diplomat was set to visit Ukraine this week at the end of a 10-day trip to Europe. The State Department said on November 5 that Wess Mitchell, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, will meet with senior Ukrainian officials on November 14-16 to "reaffirm the United States' commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and encourage Ukraine to continue implementing critical reforms." A statement said that Mitchell will also meet business and civic leaders to discuss Ukrainian efforts to transform the country into a "prosperous, secure, and democratic European state." With reporting by TASS and Interfax Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/volker-surkov-meeting- ukraine-u-s-russia/28853193.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 A new still from Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif's upcoming film Tiger Zinda Hai is out, and we can't keep calm. By India Today Web Desk: It's been five years since Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif scorched the screen with their sizzling chemistry. And now, the hit on-screen jodi is back with Tiger Zinda Hai. After entertaining the audience with the high-octane trailer, Salman and Katrina are set to raise the temperature with their sexy moves in the first song - Swag Se Karenge Sab Ka Swagat. advertisement And a still from the song has only piqued the interest. Twinning in shades of green, Salman and Katrina look hot AF. Who runs the world ........ ???????????Swag se karenge Sabka swagat.. Coming sooooooooooon A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif) on Nov 15, 2017 at 4:40am PST Swag and swagat part 2 ..... ????? A post shared by Katrina Kaif (@katrinakaif) on Nov 15, 2017 at 4:45am PST Ali Abbas Zafar, who has got the hit jodi back on big screen after five years, told DNA, "In Ek Tha Tiger, everyone loved Salman and Katrina's chemistry, so for us, it was a challenge to push the envelope in terms of how they look and how the song is going to be. A lot of attention has been paid to bring out their chemistry, how they are styled, and the locations. They look the best they have looked together." The report suggests that the filmmaker roped in 100 dancers including trained ballerinas, hip-hop and Afro-dance hall performers from Greece, France, Trinidad and Tobago, among other countries for the song. ALSO WATCH: Katrina Kaif talks about working with Salman Khan in Tiger Zinda Hai --- ENDS --- Trump's Nuclear Authority Reviewed on Capitol Hill By Michael Bowman November 14, 2017 For the first time in decades, U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday examined the nuclear authority wielded by American presidents and, in particular, whether President Donald Trump could order a pre-emptive nuclear strike on North Korea. "The system as it is set up today provides the president with the sole and ultimate authority to use nuclear weapons," said Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "We are concerned that the president of the United States is so unstable, is so volatile ... that he might order a nuclear weapons strike [against North Korea]," said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Trump repeatedly has belittled North Korea's leader and issued blunt warnings about "fire and fury" to Pyongyang. While not defending the president's rhetoric, one Republican noted that elections have consequences. "One of the things that voters think about when they elect someone to the office of president of the United States is whether or not they want to entrust them with this [nuclear] capability," said Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Testifying before the committee were former high-ranking Pentagon officials, who said that Trump, like presidents before him, has absolute, unilateral authority to order a retaliatory nuclear strike, but not a pre-emptive nuclear attack. "This is a system controlled by human beings. Nothing happens automatically," said retired Air Force General C. Robert Kehler, who oversaw America's nuclear arsenal as commander of U.S. Strategic Command during the Obama administration. Kehler and others testified that nuclear protocols ensure swift execution of a president's nuclear launch order in the event of a nuclear attack on America not a pre-emptive strike against North Korea or any other adversary. "That's war in the constitutional sense that Congress should authorize," said former U.S. Defense Department Undersecretary Brian McKeon. Despite such assurances, Democrats have drafted a bill stipulating the president must obtain a declaration of war from Congress before ordering a nuclear first strike. Republicans cautioned against creating any doubts on the world stage about America's nuclear deterrent and its determination to respond to threats. "Every single word that's been uttered here this morning in this hearing is going to be analyzed in Pyongyang, and they are going to look very carefully at how we, the American people, view this," said Senator James Risch of Idaho. Democrats insisted a more pressing danger exists. "Many Americans share my fear that the president's bombastic words could turn into nuclear reality," said Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts. The last congressional examination of presidential nuclear authority occurred more than 40 years ago during the Cold War with the former Soviet Union. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By PTI: New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) Drug firm Divis Laboratories today said the US health regulator has lifted import alert imposed on its unit at Visakhapatnam. Last week, the company in a regulatory filing had said the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) had "closed out" a warning letter issued to the unit in Visakhapatnam following evaluation of corrective actions taken by the company at the plant. advertisement "The FDAs website has now been updated on November 14, 2017, and the import alert 66-40 on the companys unit-II has been removed," the company said in a BSE filing. The USFDA in March had issued import alert under clauses 99-32 and 66-40 and a warning letter later for the Visakhapatnam facility for non-compliance of good manufacturing practices (GMP) norms, the company had informed bourses earlier. The company in July announced that the USFDA had moved to lift Import Alert 99-32 imposed on the unit. As per the USFDA, an import alert under 66-40 entails "detention without physical examination" of drugs from firms which have not met drug GMPs while alert under 99-32 is issued to "firms refusing FDA foreign establishment inspection". The stock was trading 0.41 per cent higher at Rs 1,028.50 in the morning session on the BSE. PTI SVK ARD --- ENDS --- If you're in the US and crave a Galaxy Note8 but don't want to pay upwards of $900 for an unlocked unit, here's a deal for you. A top-rated eBay seller with 99.5% positive feedback is offering you the opportunity to buy the international dual-SIM variant of the phone for less - much less, in fact. The SM-N950FD iteration of the Note8 can be yours for just $789.99 at the moment, and you can pick from gold, black, gray, and pink color versions. Only the blue one is out of stock. We've seen the same handset going for $819.99 last month, but now you can save an additional $30 compared to that price. Before you buy, it would be wise to compare the network bands the phone supports with your carrier's, to make sure that you won't encounter any hiccups. The device does not come with a region lock so you'll be able to activate it anywhere in the world. Note that the N950FD does not support CDMA-based networks such as Verizon and Sprint in the US. Source | Via If you missed out on the Withings Steel HR, youll be pleased to hear that the watch just relaunched under the Nokia brand. Its available for pre-order now and should arrive before the holidays. The classic-looking watch gets its name from the heart rate sensor, but it also features a step/calorie tracker. If you connect it to your phone over Bluetooth, youll also get notifications for calls, texts and events. The Nokia Steel HR is waterproof up to 50m (5 ATM) and features automatic swimming detection (it tracks duration and calories). Nokia Steel HR is a classic watch and fitness tracker combo The body comes in 36mm and 40mm sizes and is made of steel. You can have it in Black or White with a selection of leather, silicone and woven wristbands. The battery is good for 25 days of normal use, 5 days in workout mode. Power reserve mode adds 20 additional days of endurance. The Steel HR will set you back $180 / 190 / 170. Hit the Source link if you want to pre-order one. Note that theres a warning of limited quantities on the site. Source Explosions were also heard in parts of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. Witnesses said that they heard multiple explosions and also saw the army assaulting passers-by early in the morning. By India Today Web Desk: Amid growing tensions, soldiers in Zimbabwe have reportedly captured the headquarters of state broadcaster ZBC. Few hours after army tanks were spotted in Harare, the army entered ZBC's office which is considered a mouthpiece for Mugabe and ordered the staff to leave. Several employees were manhandled as well, the Reuters reported. Zimbabwe was on edge as army tanks were seen outside the capital a day after Zimbabwe's army commander threatened to "step in". Political tensions are high after President Mugabe fired his Vice President. advertisement Last week, President Mugabe fired Vice President Mnangagwa and accused him of trying to overthrow Mugabe. Mnangagwa has fled the country with his family and has said that his life was threatened. Mnangagwa enjoyed the support of the military and was also seen as a successor to Mugabe. Yesterday, army commander Constantino Chiwenga issued an unprecedented statement saying purges against senior ruling ZANU-PF party officials linked to the 1970s liberation war should end "forthwith". "We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," the army commander said. Explosions were also heard in parts of Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. Witnesses said that they heard multiple explosions and also saw the army assaulting passers-by early in the morning. Three tanks with several soldiers in a convoy on a road heading toward an army barracks just outside the capital, Harare were seen as reported by The Associated Press. While it is routine for tanks to move along that route, the timing heightened unease in this southern African country that for the first time is seeing an open rift between the military and 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe. Meanwhile, Mugabe's wife and first lady, Grace Mugabe, is set to replace Mnangagwa as the Vice President. Amid rising tensions, the US Embassy in Zimbabwe has tweeted that the Embassy will remain shut and employees will work remotely. The Embassy later released a statement and advised US citizens in the country "to shelter in place until further notice". Due to ongoing uncertainty in Zimbabwe, the U.S. Embassy in Harare will be minimally staffed and closed to the public on November 15. Embassy personnel will continue to monitor the situation closely. @StateDept- U.S. Embassy Harare (@usembassyharare) November 15, 2017 The UK has also issued a statement asking its citizens to stay indoors amid the rising tensions in Zimbabwe. (With inputs from Agencies) --- ENDS --- While PC ransomware like WannaCry made the news, viruses are all too common on smartphones. Nokias Threat Intelligence report shows that the majority of infected devices that connect to mobile networks were indeed Android phones. Still, Nokia praises Googles efforts with Google Play Protect and says that Play Stores defenses are much better than they were two years ago. However, third-party app stores are less protected and are a common vector of infection. The biggest threat are trojanized apps once that pose as popular apps (say, Netflix) but contain malicious code (those usually come from the other app stores). Due to government restrictions, essentially all Androids in China use a non-Google store. According to Nokia, the Uapush adware is the most popular malicious app, the Jisun ransomware came in second and the Marcher banking trojan in third. The average infection rate was 0.68%. Note that Nokia collects this info via NetGuard, a security product used by mobile network operators. This way it can detect infected devices with no client-side software, but it skews the numbers against smartphones as it only tracks Windows systems that use a dongle or are tethered through a phone (i.e. not ones with a fixed home Internet connection). On fixed residential networks things look much better. Nokia reports that the infection rate fell to 6.2% from 11.3% last year. Anyway, iOS is under attack as well, mostly by Spyphone apps, though with basically no third-party app stores the infections were less common. Older versions of iOS have unpatched vulnerabilities, however. Source Haiti - News : Zapping... Demonstration : Last battle to overthrow the President According to Dr. Schiller Louidor of Fanmi Lavalas the demonstration scheduled for the day of the commemoration of the Battle of Vertiere, November 18, will be "the last battle" to overthrow President Jovenel Moise. Energy Cell The National Regulatory Authority of the Energy Sector (ANARSE), created in early 2016, by presidential decree now has a Director General, Evenson Calixte was installed Wednesday, by his titular minister, Fritz Caillot. TPS Petition The Support Group for Returnees and Refugees (GARR) stands in solidarity with compatriots who hold TPS. The organization is launching a petition to collect 50 thousand signatures, likely to bring the US authorities to renew the document. Student Demonstration Friday, at Oswald Durand Street, Port-au-Prince, law school students protested, throwing stones and erected barricades of burning tires. Petrocaribe report will be sent to justice The Senate Special Committee to deepen the investigation into the management of Petrocaribe funds officially submitted yesterday, Friday, its report to the office of the Senate, a report analyzing 13 disbursement resolutions, more than 300 projects. A total of 26 copies and 26 USB sticks containing the electronic version of the document were handed over to Senate President Youri Latortue. Tuesday, the assembly of senators should work on this report during a meeting, after this stage the document will be sent to the judicial authorities for the necessary follow-up. Carnival 2018, first meeting Friday morning at the Town Hall of Port-au-Prince was held a first meeting for the choice of the theme of Carnival 2018, which should take place on 11-12 and 13 February 2018. Mobile Clinic of the Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defense, through the Directorate of Civil Defense and the Corps of Military Engineering, is since Friday in Leogane for a two-days mobile clinic. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22565-haiti-health-the-ministry-of-defense-gives-itself-a-social-image.html HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - News : Zapping... Remobilization of the army, reactions fuse Following the announcement of the remobilization of the Army of Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22682-haiti-flash-president-moise-announces-the-date-of-the-official-return-of-the-army.html , many personalities have expressed themselves on the subject: for the former colonel Himmler Rebu, the remobilization of the armed forces should be the subject of a national agreement; for his part the lawyer and political activist Andre Michel is against the remobilization of the army in the current context; for Rony Timothee, one of the spokesmen of the radical opposition party "Piti Dessalin" Haiti does not have the economic means to operate a proper army while for Gedeon Jean, Coordinator of the Group of Support and Research in Human Rights (GARDH), he believes that the Head of State is in the process of forming a militia, a paramilitary force rather than a real armed force of Haiti Meeting on the TPS Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Rodrigue and Ambassador Paul Altidor met Monday Elaine Duke, acting secretary of DHS, to discuss the extension of the TPS for Haitian nationals, they also held meetings on Capitol Hill to continue the conversation on the TPS, among other bilateral issues. Lafontant will not go to parliament this Tuesday Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant informed yesterday in an administrative correspondence that he will not be able to appear in Parliament https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-22648-haiti-flash-prime-minister-convened-to-parliament.html because of a last minute emergency. The head of government has asked the Speaker of the Lower House, Cholzer Chancy, to postpone this meeting to a week. Remember that this invitation followed a letter sent by the Deputy Gary Bodeau to the PM to draw his attention on a set of grievances of the population towards mobile phone companies and internet providers. The US Embassy congratulates Martine Moise The U.S. Embassy and newly arrived Director Allen Greenberg from the Haiti Special Coordinator's Office, congratulate First Lady Martine Moise on her appointment as President of the Global Fund Coordinating Mechanism. The USG looks forward to working with her on health related projects, such as immunizations and nutrition. 150 million loan Taiwan is in favor of granting a $ 150 million loan to Haiti for the construction of a national electricity grid, said Senator Yuri Latortue, who is returning from a parliamentary mission to that country. Nice stay in Haiti for the 22 travel agents and journalists Arrived last Tuesday on Air Caraibes with Lookea Voyage, the 21 travel agents from all over Europe and the Caribbean had very laudatory remarks in favor of Haiti on the verge of their departure. Indeed, after excursions in the mountains, at sea, in the capital, in some provincial towns and evening outings, the emotion was palpable this Sunday morning at the airport Toussaint Louverture as they bid farewell before board the plane and promise to sell the Haiti destination in their respective countries. They left Haiti with a sense of satisfaction and a taste of unfinished business. "Haiti is a country where you definitely have to come back," they said in majority. HL/ HaitiLibre Haiti - Security : 2 UDMO agents fall under the bullets Early Monday morning, two agents of the Departmental Unit of Law Enforcement (UDMO) lost their lives during a police operation in the area of Avenue Bolosse, near Martissant (south of Port-au-Prince, between the Morne Hospital and the sea, on the Carrefour road). The police operation, which was attended by UDMO agents, aimed to dislodge bandits which have been spreading terror for several weeks in this popular neighborhood of the metropolitan area. For his part, Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant reacting to the loss of these two agents said "I express my deepest sympathies and my sincere condolences to the PNH and the families of the police (Agent 2 Jimmy Boyard, 18th promotion, Agent 2 Philidor Guy Evens, 22nd promotion) victims in Grand Ravine, during a police operation, this 13 November 2017." Reacting to this act, President Moise said, "I am deeply touched by the killing on November 13 of two PNH agents in Grand Ravine as part of a police operation. I take this opportunity to convey my deepest sympathies to their families." "I salute the courage and bravery of our police officers who are in conditions harsh and complicated, a heroic work in this essential struggle against barbarism. Such painful incidents remind us of the risks our police officers take every day to ensure the safety of all Haitians. Haiti stand up to support the forces of law and order who are at the forefront of this fight against banditry. May the whole nation pull together with the PNH," declared Michel-Ange Gedeon, Director General of the PNH. Also according to our three bandits were reportedly shot dead during clashes on Monday, 4 police officers were also wounded and thirty people were arrested. HL/ HaitiLibre Du erhaltst in Kurze per E-Mail deinen Rabatt von 10 % fur deinen nachsten Einkauf in unserem Webshop. The statement was made on early Wednesday morning after the Zimbabwe army took over the country's public broadcaster ZBC's office on late Tuesday night. By India Today Web Desk: After reports of Zimbabwe army taking over the state broadcastre's office and multiple explosions heard across the capital, the military in a live address to the nation has said that they are not planning a takeover of the country but are targeting criminals around the President, The Associated Press reported. The army spokesperson stressed that President Mugabe was "safe and sound". advertisement "As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy," the army spokesman said, calling on churches to pray for the country. #Zimbabwe Military now in charge, say they are targeting criminals around Mugabe but Mugabe and family are safe. pic.twitter.com/bbuXxRkUB5- Dewa Mavhinga (@dewamavhinga) November 15, 2017 The statement was made on early Wednesday morning after the Zimbabwe army took over the country's public broadcaster ZBC's office on late Tuesday night. Atleast three explosions were reported from Zimbabwe's capital, Harare and several witnesses also saw the army roughing up people on the sreets. After the army commander threatened to "step in", speculations over a military coup were high. "We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in," the army commander had said. "We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover," the statement further added. "We are only targeting criminals around (Mugabe) who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice." Political tensions erupted in the country after Robert Mugabe fired his Vice President Mnangagwa last week. Mnangagwa has fled the country with his family alleging that his life was threatened. Meanwhile, US and UK had issued warning for its citizens living in Zimbabwe and had advised them to stay indoors. (With inputs from The Associated Press) --- ENDS --- GE puts lighting division on the block Although announcement by General Electric that the company has put its lighting subsidiary up for sale had workers at GEs East Flat Rock plant on edge about their future, company officials said no changes are planned in the short term. Related Stories In a statement, GE said it hoped to find a buyer for the division, known as Current, that employs about 500 people in Henderson County. Recently GE announced its intent to sell Current, powered by GE, as the company works to refocus its mission and simplify its portfolio, GE said in a statement. Over the past two years, Current has generated significant growth in delivering new energy efficiency and digital productivity outcomes for its customers. GEs goal is to find a buyer that can help Current continue progressing on its growth journey. Nikolas Noel, director of communications for Current, said GE has no plans for any changes in the East Flat Rock plant while it pursues a sale. At this point were still very early in the process but our goal is to find a buyer that can help Current continue progressing on a growth journey, Noel said. As for a plant closing, the company plans no changes like that, nothing like that all. The business is up for sale, he said. It will be a process that takes several months. Theres going to be no changes in the short term at all. We plan on keep operating just like it already does. Henderson County Chamber of Commerce President Bob Williford said he was aware of the announcement and hoped to learn more. Were still trying to find out more information, he said. Its for sale. What does that mean? Does it keep operating? Do they have a buyer or are they just announcing theyre willing to talk to people. Its really kind of trying to find out more information at this point. In a shareholder call on Monday, General Electric CEO John Flannery described the companys plan for a more streamlined version of the sprawling industrial manufacturer. In his first update since taking over the company in August, Flannery said GE plans to shed $20 billion worth of assets over the next year or two, including Current and its transportation and industrial solutions divisions, the Boston Business Journal reported. The uncertainty at the Henderson County plant comes just three years after top company officials visited East Flat Rock to celebrate the results of a three-year, $40 million investment. The executive unveiled a new production area for the manufacture of LED circuit boards. Previously outsourced to overseas vendors, the circuit boards brought new capabilities into the plant, while accelerating customer response times. The GE Lighting plant is home to approximately 500 employees and contract workers. On an average day, the Hendersonville team produces and ships about 3,000 lighting systems across the globe. Since it opened in 1955, the East Flat Rock plant has put more than 50 million lighting units into service, GE said in 2014. Don't miss this week's Hendersonville Lightning You won't want to miss this weeks Hendersonville Lightning. Related Stories Our annual Season of Giving issue focuses on Henderson County's non-profit agencies, the important work they do and opportunties for the public to volunteer. You'll also read about GE's plans to sell its lighting division, which includes the East Flat Rock plant, the issues behind a voter uprising that threw out incumbents in Mills River last week as well as pages of holiday briefs, the weekly TV Book, Bill Humleker's Stuck in the Late Middle, the Henderson County land transfers and more. You've got to get a copy because it's only in print and it's only in your Hendersonville Lightning. Heres where you can pick up a Lightning Hendersonville Hendersonville Lightning Office, 1111 Asheville Hwy Pop's Diner, 5 Points, North Main Street Triangle Stop, 701 North Main Street The 500 block of North Main Street (First Citizens Bank / Mast Gen. Store) Black Bear Coffee Co., Main Street The 300 block of North Main Street (McFarland's Bakery / Mike's on Main) . Pardee Hospital in the lobby . Flat Rock Playhouse, downtown (100 block of South Main Street) Southside Hendersonville (Spartanburg Highway) Hairstyles by Charlene, Joel Wright Drive McDonald's, Spartanburg Highway Norm's Minit Mart, Spartanburg Highway Hendersonville Co-op Burger King/BP, Spartanburg Highway Ingles Supermarket Southside Hendersonville (Greenville Highway) Carolina Ace Hardware Whitley Drug Store Flat Rock/East Flat Rock Flat Rock Post Office Zirconia Post Office East Flat Rock Post Office Orr's Family Restaurant, Spartanburg Hwy Energy Mart Exxon, Upward Road & I-26 Triangle Stop, 754 Upward Road & I-26 Village Cafe and Pub Page 2 Hendersonville (Kanuga Road) Hot Dog World, Kanuga Road Mr. Pete's Market, Kanuga Road Norm's Minit Mart, Kanuga Road Hendersonville (Fifth Avenue) Hendersonville Post office Fifth Aenue Shell Laurel Park YMCA H'ville, Sixth Ave & Oak Str Laurel Park Village, Rite-Aid. Energy Mart Exxon, Brevard Road at Daniel Drive Dixie Diner, Brevard Road Highway 64 (Brevard Road) Horse Shoe Post Office Mr. Pete's Market, Etowah, Hwy 64-W Blue Ridge Pizza, Etowah, Hwy 64-W Etowah Shopping Center, Etowah Highway 191 (Haywood Road) Joey's New York Bagels, Hwy 191 One-Stop Store #8, Haywood Road (Hwy 191) Dollar General, Hwy 191 & Mountain Road Mills River Triangle Stop, 4197 Haywood Road, Mills River Mills River Family Restaurant . Food Lion Ingles Page 3 Eastside Hendersonville and Four Seasons Boulevard Norm's Minit Mart, Dana Road Fatz Cafe, Dana Road & Four Seasons Blvd Grocery Outlet, off Four Seasons Boulevard McDonald's, Four Seasons Boulevard Energy Mart Exxon, Four Seasons Boulevard Mustang Cafe Highway 64 East (Chimney Rock Highway) Triangle Stop, 2545 Chimney Rock Road, Hwy 64-E Mr. Pete's Market, East, Hwy 64-E Griffin's Store, Edneyville, Hwy 64-E Edneyville Post Office . Griffins Store, Edneyville Shell station, 64 East and Sugarloaf Road Ingles, Howard Gap Road Moose Cafe Highway 25 North (Asheville Highway) The Ugly Mug Coffee Shop, Hwy 25-N Triangle Stop, Hwy 25-N, Balfour Mountain Home Post Office Fletcher Post Office Ingles Naples Post Office Travel Plaza, US 25 and I-26 Southern & Eastern Henderson County, Polk County Dana Post Office Rosco's Grocery, Green River Saluda Post Office Triangle Stop, 1487 Ozone Road, Saluda All Henderson County Ingles Stores All Henderson County Post Offices One man was taken to hospital and two were arrested after violence erupted on the street outside Dublin's Criminal Courts of Justice. The injured man had been on his way to give evidence as the alleged victim in an assault case when he was set upon by a group of men on Parkgate Street, a court heard. Several garda cars arrived to provide emergency assistance and an ambulance took the injured man to hospital for treatment to a head wound. There were chaotic scenes as the violent incident kicked-off before the court sitting began at 10.30am. The trial, due to take place in Dublin District Court, had to be postponed and adjourned to another date. A defence lawyer said the two accused men were also attacked by people who had turned up and were "waiting for them". The incident was described as the prosecution asked Judge John Lindsay to adjourn the assault trial because the alleged victim was in hospital. Judge Lindsay agreed and put the case back to a hearing date next year. John Maughan (21), of Eugene Street, Dublin, and Martin Maughan (20), of Palmerstown Woods, Clondalkin, are charged with assault causing harm to another man, Martin Maughan (22), at Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, on April 22 last year. They are pleading not guilty to the charges. There was no suggestion that either of the accused men or the alleged victim were involved in assaulting anyone outside court yesterday. When the case was called, state solicitor Mairead White said there had been a public order incident and the alleged injured party had been taken to hospital. "Aside from the issues occurring, we were ready to go on," Ms White said of the contested case. Responded Det Gda Emma Ryan, of Store Street Garda Station, told the court in evidence that she responded to an emergency assistance call at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Numerous vehicles were sent, and when the gardai arrived a man was on the ground outside the Londis shop on Parkgate Street, she said. He was removed to hospital with a wound to the back of his head. The officer said she was aware there were ongoing incidents between two families. Gda Thomas Conway then told the court that the alleged victim in the case had phoned him while he was on the way to hospital to say he had been assaulted. Defence barrister Joe Mulrean told the court that the two accused men had themselves been "attacked outside court" by people who had been "waiting for them". The two had requested the trial be held in the CCJ rather than Blanchardstown Court because they feared for their safety. They were in court and wanted the case to proceed. Another family member was in court to support the accused and had visible injuries, Mr Mulrean said. "We should be careful - we don't know what happened," Ms White said of yesterday's incident. Judge Lindsay said the net point was that the alleged victim was not available to give evidence, and for this reason he agreed to the request for an adjournment. The case was adjourned to a date next year and the judge said the prosecution should have a medical report on the alleged victim's injuries on the next date. The two accused men were remanded on continuing bail. They were not required to address the court during the proceedings. 'It was one of two muggings of elderly women in south Dublin on the same night, with the first incident occurring just after 5.30pm last Friday in the unlit car park of Mount Merrion Community Centre' (stock photo) An 83-year-old woman was left shaken after her bag was snatched with just 3 and an old phone inside. It was one of two muggings of elderly women in south Dublin on the same night, with the first incident occurring just after 5.30pm last Friday in the unlit car park of Mount Merrion Community Centre. The woman had been attending a movie screening in the community centre with the Active Retired Association. As she opened her car door, she was approached by a lone male on a bicycle wearing a hood. He was described as being in his late teens or early 20s. The woman's daughter told the Herald her mother was unaware that the male had approached her until she heard the words "give me your bag". Shaken She said the young male then put his hands on her bag and repeated the words as he grabbed it from her. The woman offered no resistance and didn't suffer any injuries. "She was a bit shaken but it all happened so fast that she didn't have time to register what had happened," her daughter said. "She didn't have much in her bag as she'd just been shopping - just 3 in coins and an old mobile phone. She had two bank cards which my brother cancelled immediately. "Her bag wouldn't have been much use to anyone." Gardai in Blackrock are investigating the incident and are appealing for witnesses to the mugging. Meanwhile, gardai in Irishtown are appealing for witnesses following the attempted robbery of a woman in her 70s in Sandymount. The incident occurred at a bus stop on Newgrove Avenue shortly before 7pm on the same night. "The woman was approached by a lone male (perhaps early 20s) who, following a struggle to get her handbag, made off with nothing," a garda spokesman said. "The woman managed to hold on to her bag but sustained a number of injuries and was taken to St Vincent's Hospital for treatment. Her injuries are not life-threatening." Gardai do not believe at this stage the incidents are connected. It is understood that the description of the men do not match. The number of murders in the capital has soared by almost a third. Nineteen murders have been committed in the Dublin Metropolitan Region this year, compared to 14 during 2016. This is despite the outbreak of the Hutch/Kinahan feud last year, which led to eight murders in the capital. But so far this year only one murder - the fatal shooting of Michael Keogh (38) in May - has been linked to the feud. Arrests Assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy, who oversees the DMR area, revealed the figures at a meeting of the Council's Joint Policing Committee (JPC) yesterday. "While I am constrained in discussing particulars of the cases for operational reasons, I wish to assure this committee that all investigations are fully resourced and are making progress," he said. Gardai investigating the murders this year had made 19 arrests and charged seven people. Officers had carried out 42 searches, with eight firearms being seized and a total of 3,991 investigative tasks carried out. Fianna Fail councillor Daithi de Roiste, who chairs the JPC, said the rise was "worrying", but added: "The latest operations carried out by gardai show that they are on top of things. "I have no doubt this figure would be higher if not for their continuing effort against organised crime, which can be seen with the high-profile arrests." More than 40,000 armed checkpoints had been carried out under Operation Hybrid, set up following the outbreak of the Hutch/Kinahan feud, and the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) was conducting more than 300 investigations into suspected criminals in the capital. Det Chief Supt Pat Clavin, the bureau head, said it had a number of laws to use when it suspected people were living off the proceeds of crime. Investigations There were 305 investigations ongoing, 218 of them full-time with 87 at a preliminary stage. Eighty-three local Divisional Asset Profilers were assisting, providing intelligence and nominating targets who had been flaunting their ill-gotten gains. Most investigations were in the DMR West Division, including the Clondalkin, Lucan and Blanchardstown areas. There were currently 85 full-time probes into criminal gangs and a further 31 preliminary investigations. Pope Francis will visit Ireland next August for the World Meeting of Families Pope Francis will go to one of Ireland's 14 prisons during his visit here next August, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has revealed. Speaking at St Mary's Pro-Cathedral after he ordained two priests for his diocese, the Archbishop of Dublin said the Pope would also "want to meet priests when he comes" and "will want particularly to meet with the poor". "He will, without any doubt, visit a prison," he added. Despite considerable speculation, this is the first indication of what the Pope's agenda will be during next year's visit. The itinerary remains unclear until the Vatican has officially confirmed that the visit is going ahead. That confirmation is expected in January. The archbishop is president, and therefore host, of the international World Meeting of Families 2018, which takes place from August 21 to 26. The gathering is expected to attract thousands of pilgrims from overseas. The Pope will preside at the concluding Mass, which is most likely to be held in Croke Park on Sunday, August 26. "He is coming for the World Meeting of Families, that is his primary purpose," said Dr Martin. "He will focus on the many difficulties and challenges families have to face. "He doesn't want big shows, he wants to be just present with those who are marginalised." Dr Martin said he would like the Pope "to come to areas, particularly of Dublin, where he can see poor communities hit by poverty or difficulties". This may suggest that a visit is being lined up to the inner city communities of his own parish, which have been plagued by gangland violence linked to the Kinahan-Hutch feud. Saint During the ceremony of ordination yesterday, Dr Martin told Fr James Daly and Fr Bill O'Shaughnessy that he had chosen the Feast of St Laurence O'Toole, patron of Dublin, for their ordination because the saint was from Castledermot, the same place as Fr O'Shaughnessy. He acknowledged how, 50 years ago, the Catholic Church in Ireland played "a dominant and at times domineering role" in many aspects of Irish society. However, he said great changes in culture and in the place of the church in society had occurred over the past five decades. "The church can never be the closed community of the like-minded. It can never be simply a comfort zone," Dr Martin warned as he urged the new priests not to see their commitment to poverty, chastity and obedience as an allegiance of restriction but to be free from the many compromising allegian- ces such as consumerism, success, popularity, wealth or power. Fr O'Shaughnessy has been ministering as a deacon in Springfield and Jobstown parishes in Tallaght. He has degrees in theology and philosophy. Fr Daly worked for several years in local government and later trained as a youth minister. He is currently based in the parish of Skerries. Dr Martin has now ordained 16 men to the diocesan priesthood since he became archbishop in 2004. How good are these two guys, Penn State fans? It may surprise you ... Below five per cent is a huge psychological and physical setback for non-Muslims in an increasingly Islamist country. Once our population falls below 5 per cent, we are doomed. We will have to convert or leave the country. Last weeks attack on Hindus at Thakurpara in Rangpur in which about 30 houses belonging to Hindus were torched and many more were looted follows a pattern. Islamist mobs, egged on by radical Wahhabi clerics, started burning and looting houses and attacking Hindus and temples after an alleged Facebook post by a Hindu defaming Islam. Investigations have revealed that the rumours about the Facebook post were patently false and spread by hardline Islamist clerics. Last year, too, false rumours about a fake Facebook post triggered widespread attacks on Hindus at Brahmanbaria that left hundreds of families homeless and 15 temples destroyed. False Facebook posts have become the latest weapon of these radicals to attack Hindus. No Hindu in Bangladesh will ever post anything defamatory or derogatory about Islam. Some Islamists hack into the accounts of Hindus and post such messages, and then publicise them to whip up anger and frenzy against Hindus, said Hindu Mahajote secretary general Govinda Pramanik. Hindus in Bangladesh are in panic and the Awami League government has not taken any measures to protect us, he said. According to the Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mahajote, attacks on Hindus have increased in recent years. But while such violence against Hindus get publicised, what escapes attention is the forced conversions, especially of women and children. What also escapes media attention is the forcible dispossession and eviction of Hindus from their lands and properties, denial of employment opportunities to the Hindus (especially in the villages) and other forms of acute discrimination. Since the victims are poor, they find it extremely difficult to rebuild their homes and in many such cases, they migrate to other places. Those who own land feel vulnerable, are constantly threatened and face an uncertain future. As a result, they sell of their lands and houses at distress prices and go away to other places, including India. Thus, slowly, Hindus are driven away, said Hindu Mahajotes international affairs secretary Ripon Dey, who has been briefing senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders about the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh. The attack on Hindus in Bangladesh is a multi-pronged one, says Hindu Mahajote adviser and renowned academic Durga Das Bhattacharya. It could be something like eve-teasing of Hindu girls and women, boycott of petty Hindu traders and unofficial restrictions on Pujas and celebrating Hindu religious festivals imposed by the local imam. These are all designed to harass Hindus with the ultimate objective of driving Hindus away from a place. And if Hindus get provoked and do something rash, it only makes the task of these fundamentalists easier, said Bhattacharya, who was the vice chancellor of the prestigious National University Bangladesh. Hindus constituted 33 per cent of the population of East Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) in 1901. In 1911, the population of Hindus declined to 31 per cent and then to 30.6 per cent in 1921. In 1931, Hindus were 29.4 per cent of the population of East Bengal and this figure declined to 28 per cent in 1941. This shows that persecution of Hindus in Muslim-majority East Bengal started much before Independence and Partition. The forms of harassment and persecution of Hindus that we witness now molestation of women, attacks on homes and mandirs, forcible takeover of properties and forcible conversions have been happening during the British days too and, before that, since the Mughals and Muslims started ruling over Bengal. The difference is that earlier, it was not orchestrated and pre-planned, which is the case now, said Tarun Roy, a leader of the Bangladesh Hindu Parishad. After Partition and the formation of East Pakistan, the number of Hindus in that country fell drastically to 22 per cent due to migration of thousands of Hindus, mostly the affluent, to India. In 1961, Hindus declined to 18.5 per cent of the population. Another wave of Hindu migration followed the launch of Operation Searchlight by the Pakistani army in East Pakistan in early 1971. This operation was directed against those seeking independence, but targeted mainly Hindus in that country. As a result, the percentage of Hindus fell to just 13.5 per cent of the newly-independent Bangladeshs population in 1974. That persecution of Hindus did not stop even in Bangladesh, which was founded on so-called secular ideals, is evident from the fact that Hindus declined to 12.13 per cent of the countrys population in 1981, 10.5 per cent in 1991, 9.2 per cent in 2001 and to 8.96 per cent at the time of the last census in 2011. Right now, according to estimates, the percentage of Hindus would be around 8.5 per cent. According to Islamist literature and exhortations in Islamist periodicals published in Bangladesh, the aim is to reduce the percentage of Hindus to 6 per cent by 2031 and to below 5 per cent within the next few years. Once the number of Hindus goes to below 5 per cent of the countrys population, it is only a matter of time before such a small group are forcibly converted to Islam, killed, or driven out of the country. This is what the Wahhabi fundamentalists are aiming for and are working very methodically according to their script. They are following what their counterparts in Pakistan have managed to do: reduce the number of Hindus to an insignificant percentage of the total population and make them so weak and vulnerable that either they convert to Islam or flee the country, said Mainak Mondal of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti of Bangladesh. Mondal explained that when Hindus are reduced to a hopeless minority in Bangladesh, their vulnerability will increase manifold. Now, despite being over 8 per cent of the countrys population, we derive whatever little strength we have from our numbers. Below five per cent is a huge psychological and physical setback for non-Muslims in an increasingly Islamist country. Once our population falls below 5 per cent, we are doomed. We will have to convert or leave the country, said Mondal. Hindus of Bangladesh felt safer when the Awami League government came to power in 2009. But we have been badly let down by the Awami League (AL). AL leaders and activists, as well as people belonging to the Chhatra League (the ALs students wing), have actively participated in attacks on Hindus. This news report, for instance, documents the involvement of AL leaders in planning and carrying out the attacks on Hindus at Rangpur, said Mahajotes Ripon Dey. While the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) has always had close ties with hardline Islamists, many AL leaders, said Dey and other Hindu leaders, also has close ties with many Wahhabis. The Awami League professes to be secular and Sheikh Hasina (AL leader and Prime Minister) may be earnest about protecting Hindus and other minorities, but many of her ministers and party colleagues are radical Islamists and anti-minority. Hasina is powerless to act against them. Large sections of the police force, the bureaucracy and the armed forces have also been Islamised, especially during the BNP rule and under the military dictators who ruled the country. They are very powerful and their agenda is to cleanse Bangladesh of Hindus and Buddhists, said Mondal. By Jaideep Mazumdar Jaideep Mazumdar is a journalist with many years of experience in The Times Of India, Open, The Outlook, The Hindustan Times, The Pioneer and some other news organizations. He has reported on politics, society and many other subjects from North, East and North East India as well as Nepal and Bangladesh. Source : Swarajya T he past 20 years have seen the epicentre of London nightlife shift from the West End to the more edgy East End hotspots of Hoxton and Shoreditch. While Soho has become a place to eat before the theatre, for a more cutting-edge restaurant scene you must travel further east to Walthamstow or south east to Deptford. The capitals night Tube, which was rolled out across the Central, Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines last year, was intended to support a growing night-time economy but until now it has largely skirted around the core cultural hubs of the east. Next month Transport for London will launch the capitals first night service on the Overground the Ginger line. It will run 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays from Dalston Junction in east London to New Cross Gate in the south-east of the capital, extending to Highbury & Islington next year. The service will take in Wapping, Shadwell, Whitechapel and Shoreditch High Street, a short walk from Silicon Roundabout, capital of the UKs tech and design start-up sector. An all-night service in this part of the city is long overdue, says analyst Nick Whitten of property group JLL. TODO: define component type brightcove Chris Manderson of Foxtons agrees its badly needed: The day starts later and finishes later or rather earlier the next morning on this side of town. Early hours trains through the most vibrant part of the East End will of course be helpful to party animals. From 1,800 a month: new one-, two- and three-bedroom flats to rent at pet-friendly Dalston Works, with concierge, bike storage and minutes from Dalston Junction night trains (020 3111 1789) But more importantly, they will open up a patchwork of more affordable districts to young Londoners on modest wages who are more likely to be working late over the weekend. For thousands of shift workers nurses, bar staff, those in the creative arts, security guards, technicians, cleaners, not to mention TfL employees the service provides a safe passage home, allowing them to buy or rent further from work. From 685,000: studios, flats and penthouses at The Stage by Galliard, just three minutes walk from the Overground night train at Shoreditch High Street station (020 3883 4398) Olivia Harris, chief executive of affordable homes charity Dolphin Living, explains: It will provide a reliable, low-cost transport option. It will enable more people to find a better and bigger rented home and even put more money in peoples pockets to save for a deposit. Local economies should benefit, too. Russell Taylor, owner of Old Street Records in Shoreditch, says: We welcome the night train as it offers our staff and musicians, who work into the early hours, a safe, convenient way home. "Not only this, those people who are looking for work in hospitality but who cant afford to live more centrally will now have a chance to apply for jobs in the area. SUPER-CONNECTED IN DEPTFORD Web developer Hamish Hossack, 26, and girlfriend Ilona, 24, are moving to Deptford Foundry from Surrey and have bought a three-bedroom flat in the complex. Getting to and from the office each day is one of the main reasons were putting down roots in Deptford, says Hossack. The transport links mean we can get to all sides of town from just one station. I work in Aldgate East and will use the night train after work events on a Friday. Deptford house prices are forecast to rise 15-20 per cent in the next five years, says JLL the fastest rate of growth along the night train route. Deptford offers good transport infrastructure, a buzzing, attractive high street and the developers are now starting to create Thames-side living, says JLLs Nick Whitten. New homeowners: Hamish Hossack and girlfriend Ilona have bought a three-bedroom flat at Deptford Foundry NO MORE WALKING HOME IN THE DARK Freelance graphic designer Georgia Currell was born and grew up in Homerton, a residential east London enclave just north of Victoria Park. She now owns a two-bedroom apartment in The Textile Building in Hackney Central and welcomes the new night train that will enable her to meet clients in the evening. On a personal level, she looks forward to going to more cultural events. Most of my work is around Shoreditch and Hoxton so Ill be jumping on the night train late on Friday nights after events rather than walking home, says Currell, 23. It has become more essential given the uncertainty around Ubers future, she adds, referring to Transport for Londons decision not to renew the app-based taxi firms licence to operate in the capital. Working late: the night train will help Georgia Currell with evening meetings / Juliet Murphy The Textile Building in Chatham Place was the old Burberry factory converted by developers Aitch Group. All 85 homes have now sold. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom penthouse with balcony is available as a resale on the sixth floor covering 1,060sq ft and priced at 845,000. More affordable new-build schemes can be found towards the bottom of the line. Deptford Foundry, by Anthology, to be completed towards the end of next year, comprises eight apartment blocks, a residential tower overlooking a courtyard and a new cycle track. A short walk from New Cross Gate station and the night train, prices start from 385,000 for one-bedroom flats. Call JLL on 020 3553 6811. Australia has released the results of its vote-by-mail referendum on gay marriage. Over 61% voted yes . The vote was positive in each of the country's seven states and its Capital Territory.The referendum is not legally binding, but Australia's Parliament is expected to pass legislation by Christmas. Support is over 70% in both houses of Parliament. The government has rejected proposals to allow businesses to discriminate against gay couples on "religious freedom" grounds, an issue which is still contentious in the US.Gay marriage is now legal in most of the Western world, including the US, Germany, the UK, France, Brazil, Canada, several Mexican states, Argentina, Spain, Scandinavia, and even Ireland (by referendum!) and South Africa. Visit expo > BMP Whole Blood Analyzer: GEM Premier ChemSTAT New Gold Supplier NycoCard READER II POC Test Reader New MICRONAUT6 Software Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Software New Silver Supplier DIAGNOSTIC MANUFACTURING Diagnostic Manufacturing NDS Surgical Imaging, LLC (San Jose, CA; USA), which designs and manufactures endoscopy visualization, video processing, and wireless imaging systems, will be showcasing its new VIMA integrated operating room (OR) networking solution, at the MEDICA World Forum for Medicine in Dusseldorf, Germany.The VIMA networking solution is an easy-to-use video management and patient procedure record/capture system for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and is design engineered to enhance control and integration of visualization systems. VIMA uses state-of-the-art network technology processing to transmit and receive uncompressed video, provide power to other devices, communicate bi-directional serial control, and enable network connectivity through a single Ethernet cable.VIMA is certified for near patient installations and allows the clinical staff to easily manage a multitude of medical imaging sources via a large format 15-inch or 21-inch touch-screen interface. With simple and intuitive touch-screen commands, it allows the user to switch and route imaging to the desired monitors, and initiate recording and image capture within the patient record via the DICOM/PACS interface.An integrated VIMA solution combining NDS ScaleOR video scaling device and the advanced visualization capabilities of the Radiance Ultra display series can be can be quickly installed with a single cable HDBaseT-enabled plug-and-play approach. ScaleOR supports any analog or digital signal format, enabling conversion to true uncompressed 1080p video quality, and routing to one of the eight VIMA video outputs.Our goal is to provide OEM and distributor partners with integrated OR technologies that bring a new level of simplicity and flexibility to the procedure room with uncompromised quality, said Karim Khadr, President and General Manager of NDS. Simplifying connectivity and installation complexities, while delivering more visualization data and control performance through a single Ethernet cable is one more example of NDS' commitment to deliver innovation in endoscopy applications. The Whitley the iconic Luxury Collection hotel soon to welcome guests in the heart of Atlantas urban chic Buckhead neighborhood proudly announces David Friederich as Managing Director of the upcoming hotel. In this role, Friederich will be responsible for managing the hotels day-to-day success and overseeing all operational aspects of the 507-room property, introducing guests to the hotels welcoming combination of southern hospitality and chic sophistication. As we bring The Whitley to life and usher in a new generation for one of Buckheads most storied addresses, were excited to have David Friederich join our team, said Gerald Barrack, senior vice president, operations and hotel transitions, HEI Hotels & Resorts. With more than 20 years of luxury management experience, Friederichs thorough understanding of, and vision for, the luxury space will help us solidify The Whitley as a truly iconic, sophisticated and hospitable haven in Atlanta. A seasoned leader and innovator in the hospitality realm, Friederich joins The Whitley after six years with the Kessler Collection, most recently as Corporate Vice President of Operations. Previously, Friederich served as Regional General Manager overseeing The Kessler Collections Orlando-area properties, and before that as General Manager for the hoteliers Grand Bohemian Orlando one of Conde Nasts Top Hotels in Florida. Prior to his time with the Kessler Collection, Friederich held management and director roles across a number of reputable luxury hotel and resort brands, including Rancho Valencia Resort, La Valencia Hotel, Keowee Springs Lodge and Spa, The Cloister Hotel at Sea Island, The Wigwam Resort and Four Seasons. Bird joined Montage Deer Valley in 2015 as director of rooms where she was responsible for all guest relations, including assuring top-of-line accommodations and exceptional service from the resorts front desk and reservations office. Prior to living in Park City, Bird resided in Denver where she held various roles including general manager at Hotel Teatro and area general manager for The Crawford Hotel and The Oxford Hotel & Spa, overseeing the hotels pre-opening efforts. She also spent nearly two decades with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, including eight years as director of rooms at Four Seasons properties in Newport Beach, Scottsdale, Santa Barbara, and Aviara. Bird is a graduate of Hohere Handelsschule in Aachen, Germany, and is fluent in German, Persian and English. Bird currently resides in Park City with her husband Justin, their son Dylan, and their Bernese Mountain Dog Jackson. John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts (JQH) today announced that Nick Larsen has been promoted to corporate director of revenue optimization. With 15 years of revenue management experience at JQH, Larsen will be dedicated to the Hilton and independent brands within the companys award-winning national portfolio. Larsen will report to Jennifer Torsleff, JQHs senior director of revenue optimization. Springfield, Missouri-based JQH is a leading private, independent owner and manager of hotels in the United States, including operating more than 1 million square feet of superb meeting space. Vancouver RoomKeyPMS announces the launch of its new, premium feature, "Profile Match and Merge", that will be available to all client hotels starting November 14, 2017. This feature will allow RoomKeyPMS users to immediately harness the power of unified guest data from multiple guest stays into single, rich, complete guest profiles. RoomKeyPMS CEO, Tim Major commented, "Good quality, usable guest information is central to creating a great and profitable hotel guest relationship. Poor quality guest history and preference information misses the opportunity for great guest interaction. This prevents hotels from delivering the best and most profitable guest engagement before, during, and after a stay." Mr. Major further commented, "With an increasingly competitive hotel marketplace, it is our goal to make the advantages of easy to use, cutting edge technology available to RoomKeyPMS clients, so that their businesses can keep pace with the growing trend of personalization, invisible automation, and guest self-serve". With little to no training, hotel properties ranging from economy to boutique will be able to: Make guest information a #1 priority Improve marketing results Leverage team efforts Automate the guest data function making "merging and purging" a near-automated task Keep pace with new technologies The new RoomKeyPMS Match and Merge feature takes advantage of artificial intelligence available in Microsoft Azure cloud technologies to intelligently suggest potential duplicate guest records. This allows users to unify guest data from multiple stays into single, rich, complete profiles. To learn more about "Profile Match and Merge" view our YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iLfpOagqj0 or for more details visit our website at: https://roomkeypms.com/products/features/artificial-intelligence-guest-profile-matching-merging/ About RoomKeyPMS RSI International Systems Inc. is the developer of RoomKeyPMS, a web-based Property Management System (PMS) that incorporates a fully integrated Online Reservation Booking engine and seamless real-time connectivity to the major Global Distribution and Internet Distribution Systems. RSI markets its RoomKeyPMS and a number of other proprietary "hosted" software solutions to a wide variety of Hospitality Industry clients around the world. For more information, please see our website at www.roomkeypms.com. Rod Kawamoto VP of Operations View source ALICE, the hospitality industry's leading operations technology, welcomes travel technology sales leader and digital marketing professional Leigh Sansone as Senior Sales Executive for the Midwest and Toronto. Leigh joins ALICE at a time of rapid growth for the company, following its $39M Series B funding in August, and the company's acquisition of concierge technology rival GoConcierge the following month. Leigh will help ALICE grow the brand and open new markets for the company. Leigh comes to ALICE from TravelClick, where for the past five years, Leigh consistently scaled company ranks, becoming an expert in hotel e-commerce, distribution, and technology. Leigh joined TravelClick in New York City as a Media Analyst in 2012. After a series of quick promotions, Leigh rose to Director of Digital Strategy in 2014, and was again promoted to Director of Sales for Miami, Florida in 2015. Leigh consistently outperformed her peers, winning numerous awards during her tenure at TravelClick, including Sales Specialist of the Year in 2014, and in 2016, Sales Rookie of the Year and 100% Club. At the time of her move from TravelClick to ALICE, Leigh was the local market expert for more than 300 hotels, having successfully supported and expanded a $5M book of business. Leigh is a graduate of The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business and holds a BSBA in Finance. ALICE is the industry leader in hospitality operations technology. Close to two thousand hotels across the country and around the world have chosen ALICE for the transformative effect joining all hotel staff departments onto a single platform has for improved task management and employee communication. ALICE's guest engagement toolset is also helping its clients deliver exceptional service with cutting-edge innovations like guest-to-staff texting. "We are so excited to have Leigh join our team in Chicago," says Wendy Zapach, ALICE's Head of Sales. "Chicago and the Midwest are excellent markets for ALICE, with beautiful and unique independent properties. Leigh's being a native gal with local contacts and connections is going to make an impact for ALICE right off the ground." About ALICE ALICE is the leading all-in-one hospitality operations platform that enables hotel staff to do their most impactful work. Task management, real-time communication, and operational analytics reduce the complexity and chaos of hotel operations providing the transparency and flexibility needed to run efficiently. Founded in 2013, ALICE works with more than 2,500 hotels and tens of thousands of hotel staff across many of the world's leading brands, including Hilton Hotels & Resorts, Graduate Hotels, and Grupo Posadas. ALICE won 7 HotelTechAwards in 2022: winner of Best Concierge Software & Best Housekeeping Software; finalist for its Guest Messaging, Maintenance, and Staff Collaboration Tools; Top 10 People's Choice; and Top 10 Best Places to Work in Hotel Technology for the fifth straight year. https://www.aliceplatform.com/. Lola Feiger Digital Marketing Tru by Hilton Stuttgart Opens in Arkansas Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) new, midscale hotel brand, Tru by Hilton, today announced the opening of its newest property, Tru by Hilton Stuttgart. The 84-room hotel, located at 204 W. 22ndStreet in Stuttgart, Arkansas is owned and managed by Flyway Developments. The new hotel is conveniently located directly on 22nd Street in the Rice Capital of the World, near the Grand Prairie Center and other attractions. "We are extremely proud to join the Tru by Hilton brand and introduce travelers to this new midscale lodging offering," said Hillary Jones, general manager. "Our ideal location, unique set of offerings and affordable price makes us a desirable choice for guests visiting the Stuttgart area." Tru by Hilton promises guests a simplified and spirited stay, grounded in value. Developed from the ground up using consumer and owner feedback, Tru by Hilton is a game-changer that appeals cross-generationally to travelers looking for an innovative, affordable hotel experience. Tru by Hilton properties offer the following features: Even if you were from Toronto, youd be forgiven if Navs meteoric rise came as a huge surprise. Hailing from the west end borough, Rexdale, Navs cryptic image and top-tier production skills gained him notoriety on streaming platforms that seemed impossibly organic. The XO affiliate has managed to successfully transition from producer to rapper, and make a name for himself while doing it. While he may be focused on his rapper image these days, hes still giving out select production (seemingly more likely if hes also featured on the track). Were running through 10 of his best beats to get you more acquainted with his production style. Harvey Stripes Jokers feat. Nav Why so serious? Nav not only provided a hook for Harvey Stripes, but a beat for the big body from Ottawa, with comes complete with a ballin video to match the sound. Navs production on this song bumps like tracks from Torontos east and northwestern hoods, which compliments the gritty shots around Ottawa. Vanilla the diamonds, like ice ice baby The whip that Im driving, like white rice and gravy Your bitches, Im robbin, they givin Like Mike Tyson lady Forgets it Porsche from a Lexus Watch these bitches, and these bitches watch this fuckin necklace What a beautiful purchase Trust me my goonies are lurkin - Nav The Man Nav shouts out French Montana, and talks about how great he is, at least from the perspective of an unnamed woman whos wrapped around his finder, singing his praises. Its a standard affair for hip-hop, but the laid-back self-produced beat makes this track a stand out. Navs not exactly flexing, hes flossin. - Belly Re Up feat. Nav Melancholy is a staple in Canadian hip-hop, a notion which Belly and Nav do justice in Re Up, where both talk about struggles involving drugs. Whether its Belly outing friends who only hang around when hes holding, or Nav, who fell in love with the sauce and never looked back, both acknowledge that, maybe, theres more to life than popping Xans. Born alone, die alone I let the drugs take my soul First time I bought some weed I was sold If I get 40 thousand for a show Im scared Ill spend 20 thousand on some dope Either RAF or Ricky on my toes In high school I never made the honor roll - Travis Scott Biebs in the Trap feat. Nav Beibs in the trap is a confusing track. If you close your eyes and strain you ears, it sounds like Navs verses are voiced by Justin Beiber himself. The cadence, tone of voice and accent all sound familiar, but its Nav doing the talking alongside Travis Scott. - Drake Back to Back Who could forget the beat down Drake gave Meek in the summer of 2015? The meme-fueled deluge of disses culminated in the release of Back to Back, which found a way to diss Meek Mill and his hometown Philadelphia at the same time. Part of Drizzys campaign included a Free Meek t-shirt, which turned out to be a premonition of 2017. Is there anything The Boy cant do? But back to Nav (and Daxz, and 40! Both are instrumental to this song). The song slaps, thanks to a dizzying high-hat array laid on top of melodic, loopy bass notes. Were sure youve heard it already, but give it another listen, paying special attention to the production. Its well worth your ears time. - Nav Up Nav says he was never on his high schools honour roll in Re Up, but its possible he studied Shakespeares use of iambic pentameter, which gives a distinctive lilt to his plays dialogue. If you break phrases from the song, such as: Remember feeling broke as fuck But now Im pulling up in Rover trucks And listen to how he stresses the syllables in bold, you can hear polyrhythm as his flow interacts with the beat. It seems thats how his fast-paced, sing-songy lyrics remain digestible and catchy. His words move around the beat on this track, not with it, and the song is better for it. Thank Metro Boomin for this offering while youre at it, as it was a co-production effort. - 88GLAM Bali feat. Nav 88GLAM, a duo of Toronto rappers Derek Wise and 88 Camino, just dropped a self-titled joint album with Nav producing Bali, a track that perfectly accommodates three very different voices, considering tone and register. The beats arrangement makes each voice shine, whether its Wises gruffy baritone chest or 88 and Navs higher notes. - Nav Some Way feat. The Weeknd This song was a highlight, and single, off the self-titled debut Nav released earlier this year. Its a light, airy production, featuring subtle distorted organ keys and the perfect melodic hook from The Weeknd. Paired together, and its a beautiful listen. - Nav TTD Sometimes less is more. TTD or Ten Toes Down captures the budding Toronto R&B sound, which is somber and minimalistic in nature. The delayed attack on his highest synth pattern keeps you just awake enough to listen to the songs. The rest is relaxing and out of the way. A case study in simplicity used to great effect in the production space. - A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie Get to You Although its Metro Boomin who gets the producer tag shout out at the outset, you can definitely hear Navs influence on this co-production (additionally, Southside is also a co-producer). Its one of the more deep cuts on A Boogies debut album, The Bigger Artist, and a softened one at that, but the production itself sounds like something Nav might rap on as well, albeit less trappy. Its melodic, and dope. Kendrick Lamar was doing just fine with being a part of Rich the Kids track New Freezer. His album DAMN. galvanized the hip-hop community and spawned hit singles like Humble and DNA. Further to that, his current tour in support of that LP has also helped him stake his claim as arguably the best rap artist working today. That being said, K. Dot also boasted some solid feature work to round out his incredibly strong 2017 and Freezer might be close to the top of that list in terms of quality. However, Rich the Kid recently explained that, in terms of getting Kendrick to hop on that track with him, it was simply a case of good fortune. The rapper, who hails from Queens-area New York, paid a visit to the crew over at Ebro in the Morning on Hot 97 and, during part of the long-form discussion, told listeners in detail about how Lamar on his song was all about being in the right location at the right moment. He was working on his DAMN. album when I was working on my album at Interscopes studios, he said. He came in [to my studio] and asked me to hear some records. So I played him New Freezer, I [had] recorded it two-three weeks [prior] at Quad [Studios] and I played it for himit was the first record I played himand he was just like, Yo, this is crazy, can I get on this?' The rest, as they say, is history. Check out the full interview below. Kendrick Lamar has also shown himself to be somewhat of a supporter of the mumble rap generation, according to his interview with Forbes for their 30 Under 30 issue. I want hip-hop to continue to evolve, he said. Thats why I cant shun a lot of the artists that may not be a Kendrick Lamar. But this is what I tell them every time I see them be yourself and do what you do but also know who laid down the groundwork. Dont go on your interviews and diss them and say you dont like them and you dont care for them. Are you down with Kendricks thoughts on the mumble rappers in general? Let us know in the comments. Rich The Kiud We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector We work towards an equitable, gender-just, self-reliant and sustainable fisheries, particularly in the small-scale, artisanal sector This Big Indian Joint Family Has 72 Members Living in The Same House in Maharashtra US officials have jailed an Irish man who smuggled a cup made of rhino horn An Irish man has been sentenced to 18 months in a US prison for the international smuggling of a cup carved from the horn of an endangered rhinoceros. Court records show a Miami judge imposed the sentence on 40-year-old Michael Hegarty. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to illegally trafficking the rhino horn cup. Hegarty was arrested in Belgium in January and extradited to the US in July. Court documents show Hegarty and others purchased the libation cup for about 60,000 US dollars (45,000) from an auction house in North Carolina. The group then took the cup to Florida and falsified documentation to smuggle it from the US to Europe. Federal prosecutors say the case is part of an international crackdown on smuggling of items made from protected rhinoceros horns. AP London will remain an important global financial hub after Brexit, according to billionaire businessman and former New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. He said the UKs departure from the EU would likely slow down Londons economic growth but said the capital would "be the financial centre of Europe for the foreseeable future". "It has the things the finance industry needs: it is English speaking, it is family-friendly, it has a lot of cultures so you can attract those people here," Mr Bloomberg told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. "What will happen with Brexit is that some jobs will move although they may have very well be replaced here but the growth rate of London as a financial centre will certainly not be what it would be if Brexit didnt take place." Mr Bloomberg last month labelled Brexit the "single dumbest thing" a country has ever done apart from electing of Donald Trump. Mr Bloomberg, who is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $48bn, has been a staunch critic of the US president. In August he questioned whether Mr Trumps claims to be a billionaire were true. He has also been highly critical of Mr Trumps withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Last week, the businessman opened a 1bn, one-million-square-foot office in central London close to St Pauls Cathedral. Asked on Tuesday whether he would still have gone ahead with the development had he known about Brexit, he replied that he "absolutely would have". That contrasts with comments he reportedly made in October suggesting that he might have reconsidered the decision. Mr Bloomberg also praised Londons often-criticised transport system. "It is a city with the best transportation and communication and scale and it is already here, so its hard to see that going away." Mr Bloomberg, who made much of his fortune from the data terminals which many bankers and traders in the City of London use, said that London would remain the financial capital of Europe, as New York is to the United States, "for a long time". Financial services firms and City lobby groups have repeatedly warned about the damage that could be caused if the UK were to leave the EU without continued access to the single market. Estimates of the number of jobs that could go in the industry have varied wildly. A Bank of England official warned that up to 75,000 financial services jobs could be lost as a result of Brexit, according to a recent BBC report, while a survey by Reuters pointed to around 10,000 jobs moving to European hubs including Frankfurt and Dublin at 10,000. As part of its Trade Mission to Japan and South Korea, Bord Bia took Ireland's meat industry into the famed Metropolitan Central Wholesale market in Toyko. The largest wholesale meat centre in Japan, the plant accounts for more than 130,000 beef carcases sold each year, plus 210,000 of pork. A buyer checks one of Japan's most expensive types of beef, Matsuzakagyu, at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market. Getty Images The meat market commands a good price for farmers who travel up to 1,500km from locations such as Hokkaido (Northern Island) to the site which is located beside the headquarters of companies like Sony and Microsoft. While some carcasses are transported in for sale, the site also houses an abattoir which processes around 90,000 cattle a year. Outside, the facility blends in with the architecture of its sky scraper surroundings and bears little resemblance to an equivalent site in Ireland. Expand Close One of Japan's most expensive types of beef, Matsuzakagyu, is hung at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market. Gettyimages. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of Japan's most expensive types of beef, Matsuzakagyu, is hung at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market. Gettyimages. Auctions start from 10am with about 30 producers and customer present, all chanting Lets Go in Japanese as the carcasses roll forward for bidders to inspect and purchase. Carcases can weigh anything from 400kg to even 600kg with the signature marbling intact. Graded and branded for meat quality and yield, the system uses a 22-point set of criteria, which is based on an A-C grade and meat quality of 1-5. Expand Close A block of beef is hung at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market on January 26, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. About 700 cattle are sold at this market each day. Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A block of beef is hung at Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market on January 26, 2004 in Tokyo, Japan. About 700 cattle are sold at this market each day. Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images. The topmost A5 carcass which weighed almost 500kg and represents a small proportion of their daily intake. The indicative price per kilo of which amounts to 20/kg (2,800) for the coveted A5 grade. Some 25 meat and dairy companies are part of the Department-led trade mission that goes on to South Korea to promote Irish exports to the region. David Deeley, Bord Bia Consumer & Market Insight team. New Zealands Primary Industries ministry said on Wednesday that an eighth farm in the countrys South Island has tested positive for the cattle disease mycoplasma bovis, which can seriously affect animal health. The farm neighbors a property where the bacterial disease was first detected in the worlds biggest dairy exporter in July. The cost of straw, hay and silage has doubled since the harvest as farmers in the Border counties and north-west struggle to secure fodder supplies. The delivered charge for wheaten straw has hit 60-65 for 8x4x3 bales, with 4x4 bales making 35-40. These prices are 100pc higher than those available in early September. The cost of good quality hay has also rocketed, with prices ranging from 38 to 42 for 4x4 bales, depending on the quality. Supplies of barley straw have dried up and good quality wheaten straw is increasingly difficult to source, feed traders report. One West of Ireland fodder trader said he was down to just two straw suppliers in the south-east. "It's just a matter of time to when it [straw] runs out. We are getting the odd load here and there, but the big stocks are nearly gone," he said. A trader in the Athy region said the demand for feed had intensified over the last fortnight. He was moving a lot of sugar beet and fodder beet for 40-50/t depending on whether it was collected or delivered. "I put a fodder advert in the paper but I got so many calls that I had to knock the phone off," he said. ICSA president Patrick Kent has called on the Government to acknowledge the extent of the impending fodder crisis. "Farmers need financial help particularly to offset the cost of transport of fodder over long distances. "Previously the Government succeeded in getting funds from the European Solidarity programme and this needs to be examined again. "However, [the] ICSA believes that the Government needs to put a strategy in place immediately to deal with the fodder crisis." The association said the cost of transporting fodder to the worst affected area in the north-west should be covered by the Government. "There is no surplus fodder in the badly affected areas and fodder is not plentiful anywhere in Ireland," said Mr Kent. Transport costs "At best, we are looking at transport over long distances from parts of Leinster and Munster to the west and border regions. At worst, we may have to contemplate imports from the UK. Either way, transport costs are onerous and farmers need support," said Mr Kent. Farmers should access Teagasc assistance on stretching fodder by the use of straights such as rolled barley or soya hulls, the ICSA leader said. Mr Kent added that the emerging crisis highlighted the need for a profitable Irish tillage industry to provide sufficient supplies of straw, cereals, maize, and protein crops. The IFA has called for an aid package, including additional ANC funds, for those farmers in difficulty. IFA spokesman Gerry Gunning said it had asked Teagasc to help identify the worst-hit areas and individual farmers particularly at risk. "If you go back to 2013 there was a transport subsidy to move fodder around the country," he said, adding another key part of an aid package could be a feed voucher scheme. He warned some of the fodder gathered in recent months was of extremely poor quality. "There was some good quality fodder gathered in May/June/July," he said, but that was being fast used up. "I think we are heading into an impending fodder problem. Some have it now and some will have it in two to three months time." The IFA in Leitrim and North Tipperary have established a fodder bank for affected farmers and appealed for those with fodder available to contact them. The extent of fodder crisis in the northwest was highlighted by a Lakeland Dairies survey which identified fodder deficits of between 10pc and 50pc of requirements. The worst affected areas included west Cavan, Leitrim, north Monaghan, Fermanagh and west Tyrone. Aurivo is holding advice clincs across the north-west to help farmers predict fodder needs and identify potential shortages, while the IFA will hold a rally in Claremorris, Co Mayo on Friday, December 1, to highlight the difficulties facing farmers. The Government has no plans to tax farmers on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture after moves by the Citizens' Assembly to back it. A senior Government source pointed out that greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture are at the same level as 1990, although production has increased. "It's not fully appreciated but Irish farming produces much less CO2 than other countries, Brazilian beef for example, so it makes no sense to displace production from Ireland to the Americas either economically or environmentally," he said. Speaking at the recent Citizens' Assembly on Climate Change, Professor Alan Matthews of Trinity College proposed the introduction of a levy or tax on carbon emissions from agriculture. Prof Matthews accepted that the introduction of a carbon tax or levy could result in a drift out of beef production but he pointed out that the majority of drystock farmers' incomes were heavily dependent on direct CAP payments and thereby were not unduly reliant on the actual keeping of livestock. This view is borne out by the National Farm Survey figures for 2016, which show that on average CAP direct payments made up 96pc of beef farmers' incomes. The Irish meat industry rejected suggestions that beef farming was not profitable and could be downgraded without significant losses to farmers' incomes in order to mitigate carbon emissions from the wider agriculture sector. Meat Industry Ireland (MII) director Cormac Healy has taken issue with Prof Matthew's assertions. "While there are, no doubt, income challenges on many beef farms related to scale and efficiency, there is clear evidence of beef enterprises delivering a positive margin when output per hectare and efficiencies are addressed," Mr Healy claimed. The MII director also questioned the logic behind reducing Ireland's beef production from a climate change perspective. 'Carbon leakage' "Reducing Irish beef production, which is among the most environmental sustainable in the world, to be replaced on the EU market by far less sustainably produced beef from South America, for example, is ridiculous. "This is carbon leakage and gets us nowhere," Mr Healy insisted. "Equally, our aim should not be to take jobs and economic activity out of rural Ireland, and that's what his proposals would do. "Everyone is already focussed and working on improving our environmental performance in beef production." Reacting to the MII comment, Prof Matthews said that he was not singling out any particular farming enterprise but that a signal needed to be sent to farmers that there was an environmental cost to increasing production. He suggested that any revenue raised through the carbon tax or levy should be recycled into farming as a flat-rate support or to finance targeted climate-change initiatives. Irish beef exports are worth almost 2.5 billion annually. A number of shocking rural crime cases were detailed during a debate in the Dail this week. Cavan-Monaghan TD, Niamh Smyth yesterday highlighted examples from her constituency of what she described as a 'rural crime epidemic'. She said in recent months there had been eight break-ins at people's homes across an area from Clones, County Monaghan to Mountain Lodge, County Cavan. She added that these crimes happened in broad daylight, generally between early morning and lunchtime. In a debate on Rural Crime in the Dail this week, the Fianna Fail TD highlighted a case in the Cootehill area, where the home of a couple in their early 70s was one of 16 homes and businesses that were broken into in the past number of weeks. That particular couple had to barricade their farm machinery and equipment and almost barricade themselves into their home and farmyard. On three occasions during the past couple of weeks, that one farmyard and house was broken into, with attempted robbery on one occasion while equipment was stolen on two occasions. 'Had to wait 40 minutes for a Garda car to come from a different county' She also detailed a break-in at a family home in the Mountain Lodge area of Cavan. Luckily, the children were at school when this happened. This young couple had left their house earlier that day to go somewhere. When they came back at lunchtime, they found three men - criminals - ransacking their home. They arrived at the back door to find a man standing there with a hurley stick, ready to attack whoever got in his way, she said. Smyth claimed the local Garda station in Cootehill has restricted opening hours. "The family were faced with a criminal standing at their back door with a hurley in his hand and had to wait 40 minutes for a Garda car to come from Carrickmacross, which is in a different county. "Cootehill Garda station has restricted hours so there was nobody available at that time and the family had to wait 40 minutes for a Garda car to arrive. "Three hours later, those criminals were seen crossing the Border into a different jurisdiction and had not been apprehended at any point in their spree of break-ins from Clones to Mountain Lodge in County Cavan. Garda resources are starved in this area and we need them to be replenished, she said. "92,040 targeted checkpoints and 71,700 crime prevention patrols nationwide" - Minister The Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan assured TDs that An Garda Siochana carefully monitors the activities of criminal groups affecting all areas of the country and is implementing strong policing measures to disrupt and dismantle their networks. He said it is the Garda Commissioner and his management team who are responsible for the deployment of Garda resources, including personnel, to specific areas. However, l am advised that Garda management constantly monitors the distribution of resources in light of crime trends and overall policing needs. The Deputies will appreciate that very significant resources have been provided to An Garda Siochana, including an overtime allocation of 100 million announced in budget 2018 to support large-scale policing operations, including Operation Thor, he said. Minister Flanagan said it is also worth noting that Operation Thor has now entered its winter phase, which will run from October 29, 2017 to April 1, 2018. The scale of Garda activity against burglary and property crime under Operation Thor has led to concentrated Garda activity resulting to date in over 92,040 targeted checkpoints and 71,700 crime prevention patrols nationwide. This concentrated policing activity has produced in the region of 6,130 arrests and 6,920 charges covering a range of offences, which, in addition to burglary, have included handling stolen property, possession of firearms and drugs offences, he said. Flanagan also said Operation Thor has targeted mobile criminal gangs engaged in burglary and related crimes and it is encouraging to note that since the launch of the operation in November 2015, the burglary figures have shown a significant downward trend. Aer Lingus has "no plans" to rejoin the Oneworld global airline alliance, CEO Stephen Kavanagh has said. That's despite expectations that the now IAG-owned carrier would do so by 2018. IAG chief executive Willie Walsh has previously said that next year would see the likely return of Aer Lingus to the alliance. IAG acquired Aer Lingus, which had previously been a Oneworld member, in 2015. "We have no plans to join Oneworld. We still have to do the business case for joining Oneworld," Mr Kavanagh told the European Aviation Conference at Dublin City University yesterday. IAG airlines British Airways and Iberia are already Oneworld members. However, Mr Kavanagh said that Aer Lingus continues to work towards joining the existing alliance between British Airways and American Airlines. "We believe that we can bring more choice to the market place and grow in connected businesses without compromising any of our existing businesses or the consumer," he said. "We're about building cost efficiency and capacity." Mr Kavanagh's session at the conference was hosted by Sean Barrett. Mr Barrett was deeply opposed to the acquisition of Aer Lingus by IAG when he was a Senator. He claimed in 2015 that it would jeopardise Ireland's connectivity to North America. "The economics of air travel mean the fairytale of a painless IAG takeover could turn into a dark story for Ireland," he said in 2015 before the takeover was approved by the Government. He made no reference yesterday to his opposition to the Aer Lingus sale. Since its acquisition, Aer Lingus has significantly expanded its transatlantic network, added new aircraft and hundreds of jobs. The airline will unveil its latest transatlantic route on Friday. Aer Lingus will start taking delivery in 2019 of new single-aisle A321LR jets that will give it a broad range of options to serve secondary cities in the US, and other cities in Canada. Mr Kavanagh said that airport authorities in cities such as Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis and Montreal "should be competing for our business". DCC reported better-than-expected profits for the first half of the year, yesterday, boosted by acquisitions. The results are the first under new CEO Donal Murphy who took over from Tommy Breen in July. Since then DCC has entered the Asian and US liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sectors through acquisitions, including last week's deal to buy NGL Energy Partners' retail West LPG division Hickgas LLC to break into the US market. Back-to-back LPG deals doesn't mean DCC has honed in on the sector to the exclusion of others, Mr Murphy told the Irish Independent yesterday. "We're very clear, we have a diverse business model that we are really committed to. "We are very keen to deploy capital across LPG retail, energy, healthcare and technology," he said. He added that DCC does see itself as a consolidator in the fragmented US LPG sector, following the Hickgas deal. Dublin-headquartered, London-listed, DCC's businesses span oil distribution to nutritional supplements. Davy Research's Allan Smylie, said the business could spend 700m on M&A by March 2019. First-half results yesterday show adjusted operating profit up 14.4pc to 122.5m (137.5m) in the six months to 30 September. Revenue from continued operations rose 17.1pc to 6.4bn. Romania should stay the course - funded private pensions the key to sustainable future, PensionsEurope warns After the Romanian government has decided to cut the contributions to pillar II to 3.75% (instead of raising to 6% from the actual 5.1% as mentioned in the initial draft bill), people in Romania are now facing a significant risk of suffering a decrease in their future retirement income, PensionsEurope warns. "Funded pension are vital for future pensions as public pension come increasingly under pressure. Romania has been able to build excellent private pensions and should not start to dismantle them by lowering the level of contributions", Janwillem BOUMA, the Chair of PensionsEurope, said. "Good pension reforms are based on in-depth analysis and long-term goals on adequacy and sustainability. The private pensions of Romania fulfill these goals and it is of utmost importance to continue with the long-term policy. Instead of decreasing the contributions, the government should increase them in accordance with the long-term plans. This would increase the citizens trust in the whole pension system, which is vital for any long-term policy", Matti LEPPALA, the Secretary General of PensionsEurope, added. An ageing population, the trend in Europe and Romania All of Europe is facing an ageing population due to a combination of increased life expectancy and declining fertility rates, PensionsEurope points out. As dependency ratios shift with growing elderly populations, governments will be faced with falling consumption and growing pressure on social services. Overall, the demographic old age ratio (people over 65 per 100 people aged 15-64) in the EU is expected to increase from 27.8 to 50.1 by 2050, meaning that there will only be two working age people for every person over the age of 65. This is also in Romania the outlook, where life expectancy is projected to grow rapidly from 71.2 years in 2013 to 80 in 2050. That year, the elderly population (65 and over) will represent almost 30% of the total Romanian population. This will pose major challenges to intergenerational fairness, unless appropriate policy measures are taken to counterbalance some of these effects. Europe cannot only rely on public pensions and more funded private pension savings are needed so that people may receive adequate and sustainable pensions. This is a clear long-term policy of the EU and it requires that the member states do not deviate from it for any short-term political reasons. Experience from the best European pension countries shows how important funded private pensions that cover most people with adequate savings levels are as part of a good pension policy. Evidence from Romania already now proves how vital these pensions are and will be in the future for good pensions outcomes and the need to develop and improve funded private pensions even further. The real investment returns of the Romanian pension funds have been among the best in Europe. Pension funds play an important part in economic growth and financial markets and it is important to support the pension funds as one of the important bases for developing capital markets in Romania, PensionsEurope underlines. Pension funds as institutional investors are natural long-term investors, patient capital that is necessary for the growth of Romanian economy and thus improving employment. A well-functioning vibrant economic development is also vital for the social security pensions and all other social security benefits. Contributions payed in Romania for the 2nd Pension Pillar, decreased in November On 8 November 2017, the Romanian Government approved the decrease of contributions payed for the 2nd Pension Pillar, from 5.1% to 3.75%, starting in 2018, despite the former plans. In 2008, when the mandatory private pensions system (the Second Pillar) was launched in Romania, the graphic indicated a 0.5% increase of the contribution annually, from 2% of the gross income of employees in 2008 up to 6% in 2016. However, due to increasingly high budgetary pressures, authorities decided a few times to postpone the annual increase. Multiple national authorities issued warnings regarding this action. For example, APAPR - The Romanian Association for Privately Administered Pensions expressed its concern about the Government decision, estimating that it will affect the future pensions of millions of Romanians. At the same time, AURSF - The Association of Romanian Financial Services Users warned about the consequences Author: Adina TUDOR on 15.11.2017 Archive Comment this article 0 comments Atention! "Comment" and "E-mail" are mandatory Name: If you are logged on and you do not fill in your name, will be used the name that you used when you registered If you are not logged on, your name will appear preceded by '(Anonymous)'. For authentication, click here If you are logged on and you do not fill in your name, will be used the name that you used when you registered E-mail: Comment: < 10.000 car. Fill in the code from the image: RYANAIR CEO Michael O'Leary has told a High Court jury he was "surprised and shocked" by an email issued in 2013 by a pilots' group which the airline claims falsely and maliciously said the company had misled investors. Mr O'Leary said the email issued by the Ryanair Pilots Group (RPG), which he described as "a group of non-Ryanair pilots", had been an attempt to create division between management and its pilots. He also denied the Ryanair employee committee structure, which negotiates pay and conditions at different airports around Europe, had not, in 2013, been representative of the airlines pilots because it did not include the majority who were not directly employed. Mr O'Leary was giving evidence on the third day of his company's defamation action against RPG founders Evert Van Zwol, John Goss and Ted Murphy, claiming their email of September 12, 2013, to 2,289 pilots was untrue and defamatory. The email was headed 'Pilot Update: what the markets are saying about Ryanair', and stated the airline gave positive indications to investors the previous June which encouraged a share price increase, followed up by a sell-off of shares by airline management. This meant, Ryanair says, by innuendo or insinuation, that the airline misled investors, knowingly facilitated insider dealing, was guilty of market manipulation and had conspired with management to abuse the markets. The defendants deny defamation and say the words do not mean what Ryanair says. Mr O'Leary said Ryanair's reputation in the marketplace is very important to the company and it has always been policy to be truthful and transparent with investors. The case continues. Damien McLoughlin, Professor of Marketing, UCD Smurfit School; Orlagh Nevin director of sales, marketing and service, Open Eir; Breege ODonoghue, former executive director at Penneys/Primark; and Irish Independent Business Editor Donal ODonovan, chairman BJAI. A number of upcoming and well-established Independent News and Media (INM) journalists have been shortlisted for the 2017 UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards. Five journalists from INM have been shortlisted this year across five different categories: Fearghal OConnor (Business News Story of the Year), Richard Curran (Economic Commentator/Business Analyst of the Year), Adrian Weckler (Economic Commentator/Business Analyst of the Year), Gretchen Friemann (Business Interview of the Year), Amy Molloy (Upcoming Journalist) and Adrian Weckler ( Technology Reporter of the Year). The awards, now in their 11th year, are run in conjunction with the Business Journalist Association of Ireland (BJAI) and are sponsored by Open Eir. The awards scheme honours excellence in Irish business journalism across the media spectrum, with entries submitted by nominees themselves or on behalf of journalists by their editors or peers. The awards are adjudicated by an independent panel of judges comprising business, journalism, economic and academic leaders. Commenting on the announcement of the awards shortlist, Professor Anthony Brabazon, Dean, UCD Business said: In arriving at this years shortlist, the judges reviewed over 100 entries covering a panoply of business, financial and economic issues that impact both business and society. "The breadth of content assessed by the panel of judges highlights the range of issues Irish business journalists report on and analyse in a variety of formats be it print, broadcast or online. The judges continue to be impressed by journalists ability to assimilate and convey complex information, in particular under the relentless pressure to produce content at such pace to satisfy the publics appetite for news in the information age. Since its launch in 2007, the UCD Smurfit School Business Journalist Awards scheme has received over 1,200 entries from business journalists across print, broadcast and online media outlets in Ireland. The winner of each category will be honoured at a luncheon awards ceremony at The Westbury Hotel on Monday, 4th December, with each category winner receiving a 1,000 cash prize. Below is the full shortlist for 2017: Banks are using the courts to frustrate attempts by homeowners to get official debt deals. This is seen as the main reason for a sharp fall in the number of official personal insolvency settlements being approved. The banks have been accused of a "culture of contempt" for their customers because they are using legal loopholes to block debt settlement deals. The latest figures show the number of personal insolvency arrangements (PIAs) fell by 33pc in the July-to-September period this year, when compared with the same period in 2016. Read More Just 132 personal insolvency arrangements, which tend to involve mortgage debt, were agreed in the third quarter of this year. Some 433 cases are being challenged in the courts by the main lenders and vulture funds that have bought up debts. Banks and other lenders are reluctant to agree PIAs because they mostly involve them writing off mortgage debt, despite accusations that banks over-lent during the boom. Courts have to approve the deals, but banks are using a new courts review process to force a court hearing of debt deals instead of agreeing with insolvency practitioners to allow the settlements. The section of the legislation being used by banks to delay doing deals was designed to remove the so-called bank veto. This means they have turned Section 115a of the Personal Insolvency Act on its head, as this was introduced to allow courts to push through a debt deal lenders were resisting. They are managing to frustrate the insolvency process by taking review cases to court before an arrangement can be put in place. Head of the Insolvency Service Lorcan O'Connor told an Oireachtas committee last month: "These review cases have proven to be long and drawn out." Fewer than 2,000 personal insolvency arrangements have been approved since the personal insolvency system got up and running in 2013. David Hall, of the Irish Mortgage Holders Organisation, accused banks of contempt for consumers, and for the Oireachtas. He said the legal provisions being used by the banks were designed by TDs to remove their veto on debt deals. "This challenging of insolvency deals in the courts reflects the vindictive nature of banks. They have always treated consumers with contempt, now they are treating the Oireachtas with contempt," he said. The firm behind the business that was victim of a "very sophisticated cyber attack" four years ago recorded pre-tax losses of 8.5m last year. That is according to new accounts just filed by Loyaltybuild Ltd, which show that the company recorded the loss after revenues declined by 18pc going from 29.73m to 25.98m. The pre-tax loss of 8.5m last year follows a pre-tax loss of 9.1m in 2015. In October of last year, Loyaltybuild - which built its business operating customer loyalty programmes for clients - announced 37 redundancies at its Ennis HQ in Co Clare. The new accounts show that the cost of the restructuring is 795,811. The directors state that, in addition, the firm's relationship with a significant client ended on December 31 last. The directors state that in order to maintain the company's leadership position in a competitive market, the company must refocus on becoming an agile, leaner and predominantly digital-led business. The decision to downsize the Irish operation came three years after the cyber-attack put Loyaltybuild's Irish business out of action for seven months, costing the company millions of euro in lost revenues. No party was ever identified or brought to court for the cyber attack. The company's Irish revenues last year declined from 6.3m to 5m while revenues in "other European countries" declined from 23.4m to 20.9m. Vodafone Ireland has stemmed its mobile customer losses, but is still seeing key revenues fall here. According to its latest accounts, half-year service revenue fell by 3pc (15m) - from 484m to 469m - while its most recent quarterly service revenue (July, August, September) fell by 3.3pc (8m) from 242m to 234m. The company is blaming the fall in revenue on regulation, including an end to most roaming charges within the EU and a reduction in controlled mobile termination rates from other operators. Vodafone - headed in Ireland by CEO Anne O'Leary - said that "excluding the impact" of such regulation, its half-yearly service revenue grew by 2pc and its quarterly service revenue fell by 2.8pc. According to the company's group results, Ireland is second last out of nine European countries in service revenue growth. It is one of only two of the nine named European markets where service revenue is lower now than two years ago. However, the UK has performed far worse than Ireland, with service revenue falling by a quarter (597m) over the same period. The sharp UK decline dragged Vodafone's overall European results down. Globally, the operator reported a rise in global profit from 1.5bn to 2bn, despite a fall in global revenues from 24bn to 23bn. As the country's largest mobile operator, Vodafone saw its Irish mobile customer base fall by 11,000 over the last year and by 66,000 compared to two years ago. However, it gained 3,000 mobile customers over the last three months and 4,000 mobile customers over the last six months. The operator also saw a 3.3pc rise in its fixed-line broadband customer base to 265,400. This makes it the third-largest broadband operator in Ireland. Vodafone also said that its 450m Siro joint-venture fibre broadband project with the ESB is now available to 110,000 businesses and homes, which is around 5pc of the country's population. The company is to launch new products, including 'V for Vodafone', which will include services such as connected trackers for vehicles and pets. Premier Foods has reported solid strategic progress for the first half of the year, after the food company recorded a return to revenue growth of 1.5pc in the six months to 30 September. Overall revenue in the six month period was 353m (395m), trading profit at the group was 48m unchanged year-on-year while the company made an operating profit of 22.5m, an increase of 2.3pc on the same period last year. International revenue at the group behind brands such as Bisto, Batchelors, Loyd Grossman, and Mr Kipling, increased by 23pc year-on-year in the six month period, driven by the groups partnerships with Nissin and Mondelez International. At the end of the six month period the companys net debt was 535.3m, an improvement of 20.7m on the same period last year, according to the groups half year results. "We are pleased to report a return to revenue growth of 1.5pc in the first half of the year. A key highlight was our strong performance in the second quarter, with volume driven revenue up 6.2pc after a challenging first quarter," Gavin Darby, CEO of Premier Foods, said. During the year the company performed a cost efficiency programme, which they said was on track to deliver the "expected benefits. "Overall, we continue to expect the business to make progress in the second half of the year and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged," Mr Darby said. In May this year Premier Foods signed a deal with Mondelez International to renew the company's long-standing licence to produce and market Cadbury-branded cake. The British food manufacturer also extended the geographic reach of the licensing agreement with Mondelez to 46 countries, including the UK, Ireland, Australasia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Canada, Japan, China, India, Asia Pacific, Caribbean and additional countries in the Middle East. The licence will run until 2022, with an option for the company to extend this to 2025, subject to meeting certain performance criteria. Actor Stephen Tompkinson has paid tribute to his brilliant and kind DCI Banks co-star Keith Barron. Barron played Arthur Banks, father to Tompkinsons DCI Alan Banks, in the drama that ran from 2010 up until last year. The prolific actor who also starred in Dennis Potters The Nigel Barton Plays and 1975 Hollywood film The Land That Time Forgot died aged 83 on Tuesday after a short illness, his agent said. Looking back over their years on the show together, Tompkinson said in a statement to the Press Association: I was genuinely sorry to hear about the passing of Keith. Expand Close Stephen Tompkinson / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stephen Tompkinson Its hard to believe that his brilliant portrayal of Dennis Potters Nigel Barton was the year I was born, 1965. I also remember how superb he was in Take Me Home and as Frank in Tim Firths Man Of Letters. It was an honour to eventually work alongside him as father and son in ITVs DCI Banks. Keith was a joy and inspiration to work with. Always professional, kind, funny and genuinely encouraging. He effortlessly brought a new and unique emotional dynamic to the show and I always relished the scenes we shared together. I feel very privileged to have shared time with my friend and my deepest sympathy extends to his loved ones that he cherished so dearly. Tompkinsons words follow a wave of tributes from colleagues Barron came to know over a career spanning more than 55 years and including roles on shows such as 1980s ITV sitcom Duty Free, Doctor Who, Coronation Street and Holby City. Expand Close Keith Barron / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Keith Barron Set in Spain, Duty Free ran for three series from 1984 until 1986, with Barron starring as gruff northerner David Pearce alongside Gwen Taylor as his wife Amy. Video of the Day Commenting on the loss of her on-screen husband, Taylor said: Keith was such a kind and lovely man and I dont think Ive met anyone that would disagree. My thoughts and prayers go to his loving wife Mary and his son Jamie who meant so much to him. Emmerdale actress Samantha Giles posted on Twitter: So saddened to hear of Keith Barrons death I was lucky enough to work with him and my god we had some laughs! Never afraid to call a spade a spade. 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 Sunetra Sarker who starred with Barron in Casualty also paid tribute to the actor over social media with a post reading: So sad to hear of dear friend #KeithBarron passing away. One of a kind. Guaranteed laughter. Shall never forget those days. Old school. 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 Among the others to share tributes on Twitter was chairman of Elstree Studios Morris Bright, who wrote: Deeply saddened at passing of the great actor Keith Barron. He was a good friend of the industry and of @ElstreeStudios. We knew he had been unwell. Last met him at Elstree in 2009. A true gentleman. Childrens author Philip Ardagh, who worked with Barron in the 1980s, posted: He was a generous, charming, funny and very professional man. Ive worked with many people over the years but have never forgotten him. 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 Barron is survived by his wife of 58 years Mary and his son James, also an actor. The TV stalwart was born in South Yorkshire in 1934 and, after national service in the RAF, joined an amateur dramatics group also attended by Brian Blessed. He later moved to London, where he performed in the series of Potter plays and later transferred the role to the small screen for Stand Up Nigel Barton, and Vote, Vote, Vote For Nigel Barton in the mid-1960s. It's that time of year again, when I obnoxiously start saying everything in a thick Birmingham accent and mutter "this fookin' familaayy..." when back at my homestead before draining a straight whiskey and aggressively slamming it down on the table. It's Peaky Blinders time; the time of year when you remember that British drama can actually be good and hold a candle to the US. The fourth season picks up pretty much where the third left off, dealing with that unexpected cliffhanger which saw Tommy deal with the Russian threat only to inform his family - as he distributed loot from a heist to them - that they were all to be imminently arrested. Given all the recent trailers and episode plot summaries it isn't exactly a huge spoiler to reveal that no, 90% of the Shelby family doesn't get incarcerated or executed, and once this is dealt with (in incredibly tense, dramatic fashion) the show is allowed a rare moment of calm. It almost feels like a happy ending from a 90s action film as the gang disbands and each member focuses on a simple, bucolic existence. John settles down! Tommy becomes genteel, drinking cocktails and wearing bookish glasses! Arthur has long hair and is keeping chickens! Arthur! The guy who'd previously hoover up lines of coke the size of small A roads and go around shooting people in the head! Expand Close Adrien Brody in Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Adrien Brody in Peaky Blinders Inevitably, this parallel universe devoid of headlocks and swear words doesn't last, and the family, quite begrudgingly, is forced back together. Cue Adrien Brody, this season's villain and Italian Mafia don who is introduced chillingly though he barely says a single word thanks to some sharp camerawork. Cillian Murphy is on form as ever, enthralling in how you can see Tommy's mind moving a mile a minute as he paces up and down extravagantly large offices and drums his fingers on vertiginous oak desks. Helen McCrory manages to outdo herself too, with Polly set to go on an introspective, existential journey this season that, in episode one, involves a very cool soliloquy. We've been promised a "return to roots" (specifically Birmingham) this time around, which is probably smart given that, if a criticism of season 3 is to be made, it's that the whole Russian aspect felt a little random and parachuted in. That said, to completely contradict myself for a second, I'm still waiting for the day Tommy properly gets his teeth into New York (if only to indulge my 'Peaky Blinders vs. Boardwalk Empire' aesthetic desires). Expand Close Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Helen McCrory in Peaky Blinders Read More A warm welcome back to Peaky Blinders, then, which is lovingly shot, impeccably dressed (set and costume) and manages to convey a serious amount of plot information without the dialogue ever feeling clunky or expository. Oh, and make no mistake, though this opening episode does have its (welcome) rest notes, it ends with a fearsome crescendo. Peaky Blinders series 4 begins on BBC One on Wednesday 15 November at 9pm. Dreams of a white Christmas this year could remain nothing but a fantasy, according to meteorologist Jean Byrne. The forecaster said it seemed unlikely that flurries of snowfall would sweep across the country given that "statistically we have only had 12 white Christmases in 71 years". She said that if we continued to experience bands of rain sweeping over the Atlantic, then the country was facing a grey and soggy festive period. "In Ireland we are more likely to have rain," she said. Clothing Byrne stressed, however, that forecasters can predict the weather only in the short term and there was a still a possibility of snow. She also spoke about the attention she and her fellow female broadcasters received in relation to their clothing. One viewer commented that the presenters were "more focused on glamour than the weather". Byrne brushed off the criticism, saying the number of complaints was "minuscule". "That story was twisted," she said at the launch of the TK Maxx White Christmas event. "There were only two or three complaints made." Two brothers who assaulted two gardai, punching them both several times to the head in a self-confessed nasty and unprovoked attack have been jailed. Dylan Fogarty (24) got two years in prison while his younger brother Dean Fogarty (21) was jailed for one year and nine months. The pair both with an address at Dunard Avenue, Cabra, Dublin pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm to Garda Denise Larkin and Garda Peter Ryan at Manor Street, Dublin, on August 5, 2016. Two counts of the theft of bikes were taken into account. The entire incident was captured on CCTV footage, which was played in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Footage showed the pair smiling and high-fiving each other shortly after the attack. Sentencing the men today, Judge Terence O'Sullivan said this was a nasty assault indeed and noted that both gardai suffered concussion and scarring after the attack. He imposed partially suspended two and a half year sentences on both brothers. He suspended the final six months of Dylan Fogarty's sentence and gave Dean Fogarty a final nine months suspension because he had been making greater efforts at rehabilitation. Dean Fogarty was arrested in his home a few months after the attack following garda investigations. Dylan Fogarty presented himself at a garda station shortly afterwards. Sergeant Liam McLoughlin told Noel Devitt BL, prosecuting, that Gda Larkin and Gda Ryan were on patrol in the area on the night in question when they noticed a group of young men, including the Fogarty brothers. They approached the group when they noticed another young man was smoking cannabis, and asked him to hand the joint over. The court heard Dean Fogarty immediately responded with pure aggression and told Gda Larkin don't touch my f****** cousin, before pushing the garda to the ground. She fell to the ground disorientated, as Dylan Fogarty stepped in and punched Garda Ryan a number of times to the head, who reported putting his hands up to his head to try and defend himself. Gda Ryan said he wasn't sure how many times he was punched in the head, but he was in severe and immediate pain and feared for his life the court heard. He could heard Gda Larkin calling for assistance, before Dylan Fogarty approached her while she was on the ground and started punching her to both sides of the head with every ounce of strength he had, the court heard. Gda Larkin reported Dylan Fogarty as having the stance of an animal as he approached her with fists clenched. I was in fear and disbelief, she told gardai, the court heard. I thought I was about to be badly harmed. She was punched about five times to the head. I can still see him coming at me with clenched fists, she told gardai after the attack. The group of young men split up, with the Fogarty brothers hiding under a van for a period of time. They were captured on CCTV footage entering an apartment block shortly afterwards, smiling and exchanging a high five. Victim impact statements from both gardai were not read out in court after Judge O'Sullivan said he would read them instead. Medical reports outlining their injuries were also handed into court. Mr Devitt said the victim impact reports outlined not only the physical injuries suffered, but the mental health issues that both gardai faced in the aftermath of the assault. The court heard Dylan Fogarty has ten previous convictions, including obstructing a garda officer, criminal damage and burglary. Dean Fogarty has eight previous convictions, including burglary, theft and criminal damage. He has been in custody since last June for a burglary offence. When arrested and interviewed, Dean Fogarty made admissions to gardai fairly readily, the court heard. He said he threw them a few digs and that he regretted it. He said he was drunk and had taken pills at the time. When interviewed, Dylan Fogarty told gardai: I don't know what came over me, adding I'm an arsehole on drink and tablets. He said he had taken alcohol, pills and cocaine that night. They didn't deserve that, he said of the victims. They were just doing their job. It was a nasty, unprovoked attack. Both men pleaded guilty at the earliest possible date, the court heard. Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, representing Dean Fogarty, said her client had enormous regret for his actions. He had imbibed such a quantity of intoxicants he acted in an out of character fashion, she said, noting he had no history of violent offending whatsoever. She said her client was now drug-free and was an enhanced prisoner in custody, working in the prison bakery. The court heard Dean Fogarty left school at the age of 15, worked in various security jobs and had a partner and two-year-old child. Ms Lawlor urged Judge O'Sullivan to have regard for his youth when passing sentence. Sandra Frayne BL, representing Dylan Fogarty, said her client still struggled with cannabis use, but otherwise had reduced his substance abuse substantially. She said he also left school after doing his junior Cert and worked in various jobs in printing, retail and marketing. He is not currently working, suffers from psychological issues and is one anti-depressant medication, the court heard. He is extremely apologetic and contrite, Ms Frayne said. What he did was horrendous. A convicted sex offender has had the suspended portion of his prison sentence activated after declining emergency accommodation organised after his release from prison. David Radford (21), formerly of Butterfield Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin received a three-and-a-half-year sentence in November 2015 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for sexual assault. Radford, who was released in March of this year, had the final 12 months of his sentence suspended on condition that he comply with all directions of the probation service. He has 15 previous convictions, three of which were for sexually assaulting women in random attacks, the earliest dating back to April 2010 when he was fourteen years old. Last month Judge Martin Nolan heard Radford had breached conditions of his bail. Radford had declined emergency accommodation and had been sleeping rough. His defence counsel, Kieran Kelly BL, said Radford had received publicity in a national Sunday newspaper and had faced abuse since his release. He said Radford had been attacked on several occasions and was concerned for his safety in a hostel. Judge Nolan said at the October hearing: Im not going to let Mr Radford out to live rough." He said that if Radford was not prepared to live in accommodation the probation service provided then he would have no choice but to re-activate the suspended sentence. Judge Nolan then remanded Radford in custody for one month and said that it was Radfords decision where he wished to reside. Today Judge Nolan read a probation report prepared for the court and noted Radford prefers where he is to a homeless centre. Judge Nolan activated the remaining 12 month suspended portion of the sentence. A Limerick man described as a menace to society has been jailed for two and a half years after reversing at speed in a stolen car at a garda patrol vehicle during a high speed chase. Sean Kerins (26) has 105 previous convictions, including 80 for road traffic offences, and was disqualified from driving at the time. He was visiting friends in Dublin at the time of this offence. Kerins, of Moylish Road, Ballynanty Beg, Limerick, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful use of a vehicle, criminal damage to an unmarked patrol car and two counts of dangerous driving in Clondalkin on October 9, 2016. The court heard gardai began pursuing the stolen Honda Civic driven by Kerins after spotting one of the front headlights was not working. He failed to stop and took off along the Nangar Road at speeds in excess of 160 kilometres per hour. Kerins drove through red lights at two junctions before turning into a cul de sac. He was followed by two patrol cars and on reaching the end of the road, revved his engine and reversed at speed at one of the cars. His vehicle went up on the bonnet of the patrol car before stopping. Defence counsel, Carol Doherty BL, said Kerins had little in the way of parental support or encouragement while growing up. She said he began using drugs at 14 years old and used cars as a way to escape reality. She said that in a parallel universe Kerins might have had his interests nurtured and been encouraged to become a mechanic. Ms Doherty said Kerins understood that if he did not change his ways he would be continuing the cycle of offending and prison. She described her client as heavily institutionalised. She submitted that he had immediately admitted his role and was genuinely apologetic. Judge Martin Nolan noted Kerins had a difficult background and that he had little opportunity in life to progress himself. He said, however, that Kerins was a menace to society who had endangered the public. Judge Nolan imposed a three and a half year sentence and suspended the final year on strict conditions. RYANAIR chief executive Michael O'Leary has denied he once described pilots as "overpaid under worked peacocks". He believes his airline's pilots enjoy the best of pay, conditions and security. Ryanair pilots are paid 150,000 a year, work fixed 5-day on/4-day off rosters and put in an average of 18 hours flying time a week which are the envy other pilots in Europe, he told a High Court jury. They also enjoy "the best job security of any pilot in Europe" as was shown by the collapses of Monarch and Air Berlin, many of whose pilots have applied to Ryanair, he said. He denied however he had once told RTE broadcaster Ryan Tubridy that pilots are "overpaid under worked peacocks". He had always been complimentary about Ryanair pilots though not about pilots from other airlines or about the trade union organisations they are involved in. He said while he had been on the Late Late Show in 2012, he had not been interviewed by Ryan Tubridy in the recent past. Comments he made to media following a Ryanair AGM about pilots were "critical of competitor pilots who seek to criticise Ryanair practices" but not of the company's own pilots "who work very hard". He was under cross-examination for a second day in Ryanair's continuing defamation action against Ryanair Pilot Group (RPG) founders Evert Van Zwol, John Goss and Ted Murphy, claiming an RPG email of September 12, 2013, to 2,289 pilots was untrue and defamatory. The email was headed "Pilot Update: what the markets are saying about Ryanair" and stated the airline gave positive indications to investors the previous June which encouraged a share price increase followed up by a sell-off of shares by airline management. This meant, Ryanair says, by innuendo or insinuation, that the airline misled investors, knowingly facilitated insider dealing, was guilty of market manipulation and had conspired with management to abuse the markets. The defendants deny defamation and say the words complained of do not mean what Ryanair says. Mr O'Leary told counsel for the defendants, he accepted only 30 per cent of Ryanair pilots were directly employed in 2012. He did not know if the other 70 per cent, who were on contracts, were not represented by the airline's own employee representative committees (ERCs) in negotiating pay and conditions, but thought contract pilots "may have had some input" into ERCs. He disagreed he was derisive of trade union representatives but said he was an opponent of them. He was shown a 2012 Ryanair statement which attacked the European Cockpit Association, an umbrella body for pilot unions, and repeatedly referred to it as the "European Cockup Association". Defence counsel put it to him that given there were 87 ERCs at different airports, and only represented 30 per cent of pilots, this meant it was "divided into to 87 separate pieces and that amounts to no power of any description". Mr O'Leary said that was completely untrue because ERCs have delivered pay and conditions "which are the envy of every other pilot group across Europe". Defence counsel said Ryanair effectively tried to fine pilots if they wanted to use trade unions to negotiate on their behalf when introducing a retraining programme to replace their 189-seater planes for their old 150-seat fleet. Pilots were required to sign an agreement, within seven days, that they would repay the 15,000 cost of the training if they left the company within five years or if they breached the requirement on trade unions representation. Mr O'Leary disagreed it was a fine and said the repayment term was not unusual and was perfectly reasonable. "It is not a bribe, it is an incentive" Defence counsel put it to him that he claimed to be indifferent as to whether pilots were union members or not but when a website was set up so that pilots could freely express views on matters of concern in Ryanair, the airline brought legal proceedings trying to find the names of every pilot who participated in that forum. Mr O'Leary said there were people "masquerading under pseduonyms" on that website and "we took a case trying to identify a small number who had made threats against Ryanair pilots". He disagreed it was a Ryanair tactic to "bring the big guns" against anyone who criticised Ryanair, whether through litigation or otherwise, and usually in Ireland. Ryanair has a policy that where people make false claims about its safety record that it "will resort to court", he said. The case continues. A judge has adjourned sentencing of a mother four who had pleaded guilty to an unprovoked glass attack on a 21-year-old woman whose dream of becoming a beauty therapist has been shattered as a result. Lyndsey Forde, of 35 Hazelwood, Bridgetown, County Wexford, pleaded guilty before Judge Cormac Quinn to assaulting Kayleigh Cullen at the Centenary Stores, Charlotte Street, in Wexford town, on May 10, 2015, causing her harm. Kayleigh Cullen after being attacked. She was struck on the face with a pint glass by another woman . Kayleigh Cullen in a Victim Impact Statement, which she read before Wexford Circuit Criminal Court today told of been viciously attacked, having a glass smashed into her face, leaving a scar under her left eye and running down her cheek. She said it was an unprovoked, violent act, carried out by Lyndsey Forde for no other reasons, than as she said in her statement "I didnt know her, I just didnt like the people she hung around with". Ms Cullen also said there was no provocation or mistaken identity, just an evil act of violence by someone who taught she could inflict her violent actions on a young person out socialising for the night. She also said:"Its been two and half years since that night, that changed my life. I no longer go out, I suffer from anxiety and am nervous in big crowds. I wear that big scar which is noticeable, I get upset when questioned about it, while I have never been offered any apology for the hurt and suffering caused me. I have been physically, emotionally and mentally scared from this and my doctor says I am suffering from PTSD which is impacting my life as I am struggling to sleep and my weight has severely decreased due to stress. "Up to August last year all I want was my face to be put back to the way it was before the attack, but after attending Dr. Carrolls clinic in the Beacon Hospital on August 25, my dream of that was dashed, the scarring to my face is irreparable, the damage is too deep, my face will never be fixed. I am left with the reminder of this vicious attack for the rest of my life. "My dream of being a beauty therapist is gone. Even the thought of sitting opposite an interview panel and wondering what they think of me with the scar on my face is something I cant face, my life has been destroyed by someone who didnt have a thought for anyone except herself on the night." Prosecuting Garda, Ann Marie Doyle told the court that having viewed CCTV footage it showed Kayleigh Cullen and her boyfriend Matthew Kehoe leaving the Night Club at 1.20a.m., when a female, Lindsay Forde walked towards Ms Cullen and striking her in the face with a glass. Prior to this there had been no interaction. She said that subsequently Ms Forde was arrested. During her interview at Wexford Garda Station she made admissions of being in a bad state as she had a baby some weeks prior to this. Garda Doyle said that Ms Cullen received lacerations to the left hand side of her face underneath her left eye socket for which she attended A&E at Wexford General Hospital. She also received lacerations on her forehead and left jaw. She had five nylon stitches inserted in the wound. Lyndsey Forde in evidence apologised to Ms Cullen saying "Im very sorry Kayleigh, this should not have happened. I understand the life changing impact it has had on you". Defence Counsel, Jordan Fletcher, said out of nowhere a glass came flying into the victims face, where in an instance her life has changed while Ms Fordes life was also changed. "It was a moment of unprovoked madness," said Mr. Fletcher, adding one cannot take away from the serious nature of the assault. She is a single woman with four children, three of which live with her, while the fourth lives with her dad. There is a positive Probation and Welfare report before the court as well as a Psychological report. The reports says shes a modest risk of reoffending. Judge Quinn said he is not going to give any indication regarding sentencing. "I will adjourn the case to February 21 next to see how the defendant liaises with the Probation and Welfare services and monitor her progress. I also want an up to date report," he said. ONE man was taken to hospital and two were arrested after violence erupted on the street outside Dublins Criminal Courts of Justice. The injured man had been on his way to give evidence as the alleged victim in an assault case when he was set upon by a group of men on Parkgate Street, a court heard. Several garda cars arrived to provide emergency assistance and an ambulance took the injured man to hospital for treatment to a head wound. There were chaotic scenes as the violent incident kicked-off before the court sitting began at 10.30am. The trial, due to take place in Dublin District Court, had to be postponed and adjourned to another date. Defence barrister Joe Mulrean told the court that the two accused men had themselves been attacked outside court by people who had been waiting for them. The incident was described as the prosecution asked Judge John Lindsay to adjourn the assault trial because the alleged victim was in hospital. Judge Lindsay agreed and put the case back to a hearing date next year. John Maughan (21), of Eugene Street, Dublin, and Martin Maughan (20), of Palmerstown Woods, Clondalkin, are charged with assault causing harm to another man, Martin Maughan (22), at Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, on April 22 last year. They are pleading not guilty to the charges. There was no suggestion that either of the accused men or the alleged victim were involved in assaulting anyone outside court yesterday. When the case was called, state solicitor Mairead White said there had been a public order incident and the alleged injured party had been taken to hospital. Expand Close Images of the scene outside the Criminal Courts of Justice / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Images of the scene outside the Criminal Courts of Justice Aside from the issues occurring, we were ready to go on, Ms White said of the contested case. Det Gda Emma Ryan, of Store Street Garda Station, told the court in evidence that she responded to an emergency assistance call at the Criminal Courts of Justice. Numerous vehicles were sent, and when the gardai arrived a man was on the ground outside the Londis shop on Parkgate Street, she said. He was removed to hospital with a wound to the back of his head. The officer said she was aware there were ongoing incidents between two families. Gda Thomas Conway then told the court that the alleged victim in the case had phoned him while he was on the way to hospital to say he had been assaulted. The two had requested the trial be held in the CCJ rather than Blanchardstown Court because they feared for their safety. They were in court and wanted the case to proceed. Another family member was in court to support the accused and had visible injuries, Mr Mulrean said. We should be careful we dont know what happened, Ms White said of yesterdays incident. Judge Lindsay said the net point was that the alleged victim was not available to give evidence, and for this reason he agreed to the request for an adjournment. The case was adjourned to a date next year and the judge said the prosecution should have a medical report on the alleged victims injuries on the next date. The two accused men were remanded on continuing bail. They were not required to address the court during the proceedings. The Advocate General in Europe's highest court has said that a privacy campaigner is entitled to sue Facebook Ireland through the Austrian courts. Max Schrems has been engaged in a legal battle with the social media giant since 2011. The case is centred on his claims that Facebook collects private data in excess of what is allowed under EU law, and that it allows US intelligence access to the material. Mr Schrems's complaint has so far primarily been heard in Dublin, where Facebook has its European headquarters. He has since taken a subsequent case in his home country of Austria, after expressing frustration at the pace of progress in the Irish legal system. However, Facebook disputed the case on the grounds that it was not appropriate for the jurisdiction to hear the case. The European Court of Justice's Advocate General, Michal Bobek, released a non-binding opinion. The court is not required to follow his opinion, but it tends to reflect it in its rulings. Mr Bobek's opinion states that Mr Schrems's case would be limited to his own personal claim. It also says that he is not entitled to bring a class action suit against the US tech giant. "A consumer who is entitled to sue his foreign contact partner in his own place of domicile, cannot involve, at the same time as his own claims, claims on the same subject assigned by other consumers," Mr Bobek wrote. The case could have huge ramifications on EU trade with the US. It centres on whether Europeans enjoy enough protection from American mass surveillance. Thousands of companies rely on the current arrangements to transfer information such as credit card payments between countries. They are essential to firms of all sizes. Facebook has previously argued that upholding them is critical to ensuring that the economy can continue to grow without facing disruption. A male stripper who claimed he couldn't lift his children after being injured in a car crash has lost a damages claim for up to 40,000 after a court was shown footage of him performing on stage. Nauris Zeps (32), with the stage name 'Blade', claimed he had suffered back pain since a collision on July 20, 2014, at a roundabout. But solicitors acting for Liberty Insurance unearthed Facebook footage of Mr Zeps, a student originally from Latvia, showing him cavorting around a stage taking his clothes off. The Circuit Civil Court also heard Mr Zeps, with an address at Phibblestown House, Clonsilla, Dublin, featured in a calendar as Mr September. Videos and photos, submitted by lawyer for Liberty Insurance David Culleton, were shown of the father-of-two stripping as part of the Chain Gang group. Judge Mary O'Malley Costello said: "Mr Zeps told the court in broad terms he has a moderate soft tissue injury and with substantial recovery he has ongoing injuries three years after the accident, such as preventing him lifting a small child. In evidence it became clear he conducted his business of being a dancer and did it monthly, if not more." Mr Zeps had claimed on the day of the crash he had been driving on the Naul Road, near Dublin Airport, when a car drove into him. Expand Close Nauris Zeps leaving the Four Courts yesterday. Picture: Collins / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nauris Zeps leaving the Four Courts yesterday. Picture: Collins But he claimed several versions of the incident - which Judge O'Malley said showed dishonesty and struck the case out. A spokesman for Liberty Insurance said: "It's positive to see judgments being made in instances where there are questionable circumstances." A medical misadventure verdict has been returned at the inquest of a baby boy who suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain shortly before birth. Babys Stevie Cullivans mother Sandra, who lost her husband Stephen to a heart attack five months into the pregnancy, said she felt the verdict delivered justice for her son. Today I felt we got justice. We got answers. We fought long and hard, its two years and seven months since Stevie died. I just feel its too long for any parent to wait to get justice for their baby. And it will never bring Stevie back, Ms Cullivan said. She said she felt let down by the hospital, which issued an apology at the closing of the three-day inquest into her baby sons death. Expand Close Stevie Cullivan / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Stevie Cullivan The apology is fine. It's never going to bring my baby home. I think they should look after people from the beginning to the end. I knew when we were transferred out of Mullingar Hospital that I wasnt looked after in that hospital and I felt let down, she said. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane issued a number of recommendations alongside her verdict including ending the practice of placing induced patients in the post-natal ward before delivery. Ms Cullivan had been given a private room on the post-natal ward due to her sensitive circumstances. However, she was left alone for 90 minutes before staff returned to find her in advanced labour. The coroner called for clear assignment of duties in relation to midwifery staff after the inquest heard conflicting evidence over which midwife was responsible for Ms Cullivan. The coroner noted that the hospitals policy in relation to monitoring patients following the administration of the pain medication pethidine had been updated. The court was told that the protocol is being formally signed at Midlands Regional Hospital this week but has been in place since baby Stevies death. Ms Cullivan had asked for pain relief and was examined but was deemed not to be in labour by a midwife at 10pm on April 28 2015, two hours before the birth. She spent 90 minutes alone in a private room in the hospital, a crucial period during which there was no CTG monitoring of the foetal heart rate. The baby was born gravely ill at 11.59pm. He was transferred to the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin where withdrawal of care was recommended. Staff continued to care for Stevie to allow for his mother to spend some time with him. The baby was baptised and died at 1.40am on April 30. The cause of death was severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy as a result of an acute hypoxic ischemic event on a background of foetal vascular malperfusion. The baby suffered some lack of oxygen or stress before delivery, Pathologist Dr Emma Doyle said, but she could not give the exact time this occurred. Speaking after the inquest, Ms Cullivan thanked her legal team from Callan Tansey Solicitors and the support group Patient Focus. We need time and space to reflect on todays verdict, she said. ONE of Ireland's top equestrian vets has pleaded guilty to possession of unauthorised animal medications. Tim Brennan (44), who is the vet for the multi-title winning racing stables of champion trainer Willie Mullins, pleaded guilty to four charges at Kilkenny District Court. The charges, brought under Animal Remedy Regulations, followed a joint operation by the Department of Agriculture and the Turf Club. Mr Brennan of Mill House, Upper Grange, Gowran, Co Kilkenny pleaded guilty to three charges of having possession of unauthorised animal medications and one charge of failing to keep proper records in respect of a named animal remedy. Ten other charges were struck out at the agreement of the State. The Irish authorities had previously clarified that Mr Mullins and his stable of champion race horses were in no way connected or linked to the proceedings. Judge Michael O'Shea was told by Philip Sheahan BL, for the State, that the charges arose from a Department operation on February 9 2015. Department veterinary inspector, Louis Reardon, said he was undertaking a routine inspection at the Bagnelstown, Co Carlow stables of Mr Mullins that day. Mr Brennan happened to be there on that occasion and, following a conversation, Mr Reardon asked to inspect the vet's van. On inspecting the van, he found what he suspected were a number of unauthorised animal medications. "He (Mr Brennan) just happened to be there. It was a coincidence. We were not expecting to meet Mr Brennan," Mr Reardon said. The medications were seized and sent for analysis. It later transpired that the treatments involved Catosal, Hemo 15 and Quinidine Sulphate. They are variously used to treat conditions in horses ranging from anaemia to circulation problems. The substances are used routinely in some European countries. However, all are subject to license in Ireland. In certain cases, if the drugs are over-used they can offer a performance enhancing benefit and speed recovery from exercise or injury. Mr Reardon said that Mr Brennan co-operated fully with Department staff on all occasions. In a follow-up interview on April 20, Mr Brennan offered full assistance to the authorities and "made full and frank admissions." Stephen Lanigan-O'Keeffe SC, for Mr Brennan, said the offences were technical breaches rather than anything more substantive. He said Mr Brennan, like other top Irish horse racing vets, would often attend to horses at overseas race meetings. On these occasion, medications might be sought from local vets who are friends or professional associates. These drugs are supposed to be disposed of before the vet returns home but, on some occasions, vets forget to do so. Mr Lanigan-O'Keeffe offered defence evidence from John Halley whose firm provides expert equestrian veterinary services to Ireland's leading racing operation, Ballydoyle Racing and Coolmore Stud. Mr Halley said Mr Brennan, like himself, routinely attends overseas race meetings as part of their duties and should have "housekeeping" arrangements so that all medications obtained overseas for regular duties are properly discarded before returning home. "They are all therapeutic products which we would all use," he said. Mr Halley said it was important to have procedures in place to discard of all such treatments before returning to Ireland. But he said it was commonplace for Irish vets to borrow such treatments from overseas vets while attending foreign race meetings. Mr Lanigan-O'Keeffe said his client had clearly been involved in a technical breach of regulations rather than anything more serious. He said that, in a different world, the matter might have been dealt with via a simple reprimand. "These are products which Mr Brennan could have had had he done his paperwork," he said. He pointed out that the vet had co-operated fully with the authorities, made frank admissions and had entered a plea so as to save the State what had been expected to be a three day trial. Mr Lanigan-O'Keeffe pointed out that Mr Brennan, because of his bureaucratic error, now faced a full fitness to practice inquiry by the Irish Veterinary Council. He pointed out that he had also been exposed to extensive media coverage surrounding the case, particularly involving where the remedies had been recovered. This has caused him substantial distress. "It was made clear that, as for Mr Mullins, there was nothing there to see," he stressed. "For Mr Brennan, there is also nothing there to see." Mr Lanigan-O'Keeffe asked to court to deal with the matter, given the minor nature of what happened and his client's co-operation and plea, via a voluntary donation of Euro 1,000 to the injured jockeys fund. However, the State applied for both costs and expenses. Judge O'Shea said he accepted it was a minor matter. "These offences are undoubtedly at the lower end of the scale and are purely regulatory," he said. "It was inadvertent on Mr Brennan's part." Judge O'Shea noted Mr Brennan's plea, his extensive co-operation and the fact there was absolutely no suggestion of aggravating factors being involved. Mr Brennan also has no previous convictions. He applied the Probation Act which means Mr Brennan will not have a conviction recorded against him. He allowed Euro 1,150 in witness expenses but refused to make an order as to costs in favour of the State. Judge O'Shea also declined to make any order as to the Euro 1,000 offered to charity by Mr Brennan. He granted the State a forfeiture order as to the medications involved. Ulster and Irish rugby star Paddy Jackson has appeared in court where he denied raping and sexually assaulting a woman last summer. Jackson appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday alongside two co-accused, who are also facing charges arising from the alleged sexual assault. All three were informed a trial date has been set for January 22, 2018. Jackson (25), from Oakleigh Park in Belfast, spoke to confirm his name. He also replied "not guilty" when the two charges were put to him - namely raping and sexually assaulting a woman on June 28, 2016. During the hearing, Jackson's barrister Brendan Kelly QC asked if it was possible that the trial could start earlier than the proposed date of January 22. Mr Kelly said the reason for his request was that Jackson "has been unable contractually to work ... and the sooner the matter is tried, the sooner that p articular matter can be resolved". Also appearing alongside Jackson was 25-year-old Blane McIlroy, from Royal Lodge Road in Belfast, and Rory Harrison, who is also 25 and from Manse Road in the city. McIlroy was charged with, and denied, exposing his genitals on June 28 last year, "intending that someone would see them and be caused alarm or distress". Harrison faces two charges, namely perverting the course of justice on dates between June 27 and July 1, and withholding information on dates between June 27 and October 5, 2016. Harrison denied making a witness statement to police in which he lied about his dealings with the female complainant and omitted information relevant to the investigation. He also denied a charge of knowing rape had been committed and failing to give that information to a constable. After all three defendants entered "not guilty" pleas to all charges, senior prosecuting barrister Toby Hedworth QC revealed a number of witnesses who will be called to give evidence are students and will be undertaking exams in January. He said: "Police are going to make requests of the universities in question ... most if not all of them should be able to get a bit of leeway to comply with any dates put to them". When Judge Smyth revealed the proposed date for trial has been set at January 22, Jackson's barrister asked if it were possible to secure an earlier date. The Judge responded by saying this was not possible, as the date of January 22 has been proposed "for a number of reasons". Judge Smyth said the case would "benefit from a review" which has been scheduled to take place on December 15. She excused all three defendants from attending court on that date, before releasing them from the dock. A fourth co-accused Stuart Olding (24) - who is Jackson's rugby international team-mate and from Ardenlee Street in Belfast - is due to appear at the same court later this week. A woman who had previously pursued a career in nursing punched and kicked a Luas passenger in an attempt to rob her mobile phone has received a four year suspended sentence. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Linda Wall (37) was hopelessly addicted to snow blow at the time and had been directed to get the phone by her drug dealer, who stood nearby, in order to pay part of the debt. Wall, of Mount Brown, Old Kilmainham, Dublin pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at Museum Luas Stop on June 15, 2015. She has 16 previous convictions. Judge Melanie Greally accepted that Wall had expressed remorse for the attack. She noted from the victim impact statement that the injured party had had similar loss in her life to Wall and was at pains to point out that other people have difficulties but they don't act out on them. She gave Wall credit for her guilty plea and the steps she has taken to address the risk factors in her life. Judge Greally suspended the sentence for four years, directed that Wall undergo 12 months probation supervision and told the woman to take this new opportunity in her life. At the sentence hearing, Garda Denise Bowes told Seamus Clarke BL, prosecuting, that a Chinese woman was talking on her mobile phone at the Luas stop when Wall tried to grab it out of her hand. The victim said Wall kicked and punched her, as well as pulling her hair before she was pulled off her by another woman. The victim alerted nearby gardai and Wall ran off. The woman was crying and shaking. She said she had been terrified by the assault. She suffered some swelling to her head but did not need to go to hospital. Wall was arrested and gave her sister's name before being taken for interview. She admitted she had been involved in the incident. She said her dealer had asked her to do it and said he would knock some money off her debt if she got the phone. Wall denied punching the victim and told gardai it was not her intention to injure the woman. Marie Torrens BL, defending, said Wall, a mother of two, had a good standard of education and had been pursing a career in nursing but that came to an end due to her drug addiction. Her daughter died tragically last year following a seizure. Ms Torrens said said Wall had been keeping out of trouble and addressing her issues. She said she was aware what drugs had done to her and the heartache she has caused to others. She said Wall hopes to go back to pursuing her nursing career. The recent improvements in this woman have been amazing, said Ms Torrens. Tragic Luke O'Reilly died on Monday after being attacked in the early hours of November 1 The heartbroken mother of a young man killed after a Halloween night attack revealed his organs have been donated to give five people a new lease of life. Luke O'Brien O'Reilly (20), from the Kiltipper estate in west Dublin, was attacked after socialising with friends on October 31. In the early hours of November 1 he and a friend were on the Old Blessington Road in Tallaght village when it is believed Mr O'Reilly was assaulted by a third person. Mr O'Reilly, who was studying at Crumlin College, fell to the ground unconscious. Expand Close Luke O'Reilly / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Luke O'Reilly Speaking from her home, his mother Janet O'Brien told of the sequence of events that followed, and how for two weeks she held out hope that her son would survive. "They told me Luke was gravely ill. I could see he had a black eye and a cut on his face, but I was still hopeful he would pull through. Expand Close Tragic Luke O'Reilly died on Monday after being attacked in the early hours of November 1 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Tragic Luke O'Reilly died on Monday after being attacked in the early hours of November 1 "Luke did stabilise after surgery and he was under sedation. And then on Wednesday last they said they would try to bring him out of it, and he actually started to respond, he would squeeze a doctor's hand when they asked him to. "But then his blood pressure and heart rate went up, so they sedated him again. I rang first thing every morning to see how he was, but when I rang on Sunday they said his pupils weren't responding. "We went in to the hospital but they said there was nothing that could be done for Luke," she said. "We decided to donate Luke's organs. He was 6ft 3in tall and he was very fit and healthy. The hope that five other families got a good news phone call does help ease the pain." Speaking about her son, Janet said: "He was very affectionate, and being six foot three tall he would nearly smother you when he gave you a hug," she said. "Luke had his own problems with depression and he had his ups and downs as a result, but he worked hard to fight it. "He had a core group of great friends, and he was a great friend to them too. "He had a great love of boxing, and was a member of the Crumlin Boxing Club where one of the trainers, Philip Sutcliffe, coached him. "He wanted to be the next Conor McGregor," Janet said with a smile. Luke studied for his Leaving Cert at Tallaght Community School and was studying accounting and business at Crumlin College. "He was the eldest of three and was a like a bodyguard to his two younger sisters. He was a real father figure to them," said Luke's stepfather, Gary Higgins. A 20-year-old man who was arrested on Monday afternoon in relation to the incident is due in court this morning. An additional 1,760 passengers an hour will be able to use the Luas in each direction on the Green Line. The Government has given the go-ahead for a 100m plan to boost capacity on the tram network. Eight extra trams and lengthening the existing 26 Luas vehicles will see expansion of the line that currently runs from Dublin's south county to St Stephen's Green. Recent surveys by the National Transport Authority (NTA) indicate that the route is currently operating at capacity during peak periods with crowding between the stops at Balally and Ranelagh. The planned investment follows on from the Cross City extension of the Luas due to open next month. Transport Minister Shane Ross said the project to enhance services on the Green Line would begin next year and, combined with the Cross City Project, would "add greatly to the choice and experience of the travelling public and ease congestion in the city". The number of murders committed in the capital this year has increased by almost 33pc compared to the same period last year. So far in 2017 a total of 19 murders have been committed out in the Dublin Metropolitan Region, compared to 14 in the same period the previous year. This is despite the outbreak of the Hutch/Kinahan feud in 2016, which led to eight murders being committed in the capital that year. So far this year only one murder - the fatal shooting of Michael Keogh (38) in May - has been linked to the feud. The figures were revealed by Assistant Garda Commissioner Pat Leahy, who oversees the DMR area, at a meeting of the council's Joint Policing Committee yesterday. So far, gardai investigating the 19 murders this year have made 19 arrests, while seven people have been charged as part of these investigations. Officers have also carried out 42 searches as part of murder probes, which have resulted in eight firearms being seized and a total of 3,991 investigative tasks have been carried out. Fianna Fail Councillor Daithi de Roiste, who chairs the JPC, said that the ongoing Garda effort had ensured that these figures were not higher. "While it is worrying to see that murders have increased, the latest operations carried out by gardai show that they are on top of things. "It proves that, when given the resources, what gardai can achieve. I have no doubt that this figure would be higher if not for their continuing effort against organised crime, which can be seen with the recent high-profile arrests," Mr de Roiste said. It has also emerged that the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) is currently carrying out more than 300 investigations into suspected criminals in the capital. Det Chief Supt Pat Clavin, who heads the bureau, said that they had a number of laws to work with when they suspected that people were living off the proceeds of crime. In total, there are 305 investigations being conducted, 218 have been described as full-time, while a further 87 are being carried out on a preliminary basis. There are currently 83 local divisional asset profilers assisting CAB, providing intelligence and nominating targets who have been flaunting their ill-gotten gains. Michael Hegarty (40) was sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting he smuggled a rhino horn cup into the US An Irish man who attempted to smuggle a cup made of endangered rhinocerous horn from Miami to London has been sentenced up to 18 months in prison. Michael Hegarty (40), a member of the notorious Rathkeale Rovers, concealed the rhino horn, which can sell for up to $50,000 (42,410) per kilo on the black market, in his luggage because it was carved into a Chinese libation cup. According to the Miami Herald, Hegarty was nabbed as part of Operation Crash, an effort by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Justice to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful smuggling of rhinoceros horns. Trafficking rhino horn is a violent of the endangered species act and faces up to 10 years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000, or up to twice the gross gain. According to Federal authorities Hegarty and co-conspirator and fellow Rathkeale Rover Richard Sheridan, travelled from London to Miami where, with a Florida resident, they bought the libation cup for $57,500 (48,947). The pair traveled back to London with the horn to fix some flaws before trying to resell it for a profit. About a month later, Sheridan was arrested by Metropolitan Police in Wandsworth, London, while attempting to sell the same rhinoceros horn libation cup to a Hong Kong native, authorities said. Hegarty was arrested in Belgium shortly after on the charges on an Interpol Red Notice on January 19. He was then extradited to the United States in July. "Today's sentencing is the result of the strong partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute those who engage in illegal trade in protected wildlife," said Ed Grace, acting assistant director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "There is a frequent connection between wildlife smuggling and organised criminal activity. We remain committed to combating this illegality." The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) One man has been killed and two people have been injured in an explosion at a house in Drogheda overnight. Gardai believe a back boiler in a cottage blew up causing the death and injuries. The alarm was raised at around 11.20pm last night when the explosion occurred in the Beaulie townland on the Termonfeckin Road. In a follow-up search Gardai discovered a large cannabis grow house in a unit at the rear of the property. Expand Close The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) The dead and injured are Lithuanian nationals, and neighbours say two of them had been living at the house for around two years. The man who died is 28 years-old. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the blast. Expand Close The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) A 53 year-old man received serious injuries to his stomach, arms and legs in the blast, and a 21 year-old woman was less seriously injured, receiving burns to her hands. Emergency services extinguished a fire at the property after the explosion. Expand Close The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The scene of an explosion in Drogheda, Co Louth (Photo: Kyran O'Brien) A next door neighbour reported hearing a loud bang in the darkness of night, but at first didn't know what it was. "I heard a loud bang and came to the front door to see what it might be, and I could hear a woman screaming," said the man. "Then I saw smoke at the side of the house and the woman came in to me, but she had no English and was on the phone talking in her own language," he added. "Her hands were injured. It took a while to figure out what happened," the man told Independent.ie. As dawn broke and daylight arrived, the neighbour discovered fragments of the fireplace, coal and fire bricks in his garden where they had come from next door due to the force of the explosion. Gardai sealed off the area for a forensic examination which was carried out by members of the garda technical bureau. The side window of the house, which is in a small row of cottages, was blown out in the explosion. The injured man and woman were brought to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for treatment, and the body of the dead man was brought to the mortuary of the same hospital. At a press conference at the scene Superintendent Andrew Watters from Drogheda Garda Station confirmed that the man who died and the man and woman who were injured were Lithuanian nationals. He said that in a routine search of the property a sophisticated and elaborate cannabis cultivation system was discovered in a large unit at the back of the property. He said around 200 plants in different stages of cultivation and with a street value of around 150,000 were discovered. Two investigations are now underway. One into the cause of the explosion in the living room of the house, and one into the cannabis grow house at the back of the property. Farmers are calling on the makers of Guinness to reduce the price of a pint by 10c in an effort to highlight the poor prices they get for malting barley. Around 100 farmers from the Irish Grain Growers Group (IGGG) protested outside the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin at the price they get for malting barley, which is a key ingredient in Guinness. Farmers said that in 1976 the price of a pint was 48c compared to at least 4.30 today. They received 175 per tonne for malting barley in 1976, compared with 155 per tonne today. Chair of the IGGG Bobby Miller said: "We're getting less this year than we were 40 years ago. It's not sustainable for farmers." He warned that Guinness is facing a situation of having to import malting barley if it does not support Irish farmers. Were very proud to be apart of the long tradition of Guinness, but farmers are going out of business. People are walking away from tillage. Theres a third of the land under tillage as there was 70 years ago. They have to realise that something has to change. Farmers at the protest claimed that they were producing a first class product for a third world price and warned that they may have to opt out of the sector if returns dont improve. "It has no role whatsoever in negotiations regarding the price of malting barley-these are a matter for growers and malting companies. Diageo has always been supportive of Irish farmers and farming in Ireland and will continue to be . A spokesperson for Diageo said that it had no role in "negotiations regarding the price of malting barley". Families can expect a reduction of up to 120 in their health insurance bills on the back of a drop in the average claim per insured person, the Irish Independent has learned. Health Minister Simon Harris has secured agreement from Cabinet to decrease the State levy payable on basic insurance packages favoured by young people. It is understood the changes could result in savings of up to 45 for an adult with 'non- advanced' (public hospital) cover and 15 per child. Older customers, who tend to sign up for a higher level of insurance, should also be insulated from any hikes in the near future as a result of the move. The levy is imposed on health insurers to ensure no one pays more than anyone else for the same level of cover, irrespective of age and health status. Sources said the Government cannot force insurers to lower their rates as a result of the changes - but consumer pressure is likely to mount for the reduction to be passed on. Expand Close Dermot Goode / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dermot Goode "Last year the levy went up 10pc and some companies used that as an excuse to hike their charges, so now that it's going down there's a legitimate expectation that prices will fall," said a source. The existing rate of stamp duty for high-level cover will remain 444 per adult and 148 per child. But from April the duty on basic public hospital cover will drop by 9pc to 177 per adult and 59 per child. The money goes into a pot and is then distributed to insurers with older and sicker policyholders, to ensure premiums are the same for everyone with the same type of cover. Mr Harris brought a memo to Cabinet yesterday following an evaluation of the market carried out by the Health Insurance Authority (HIA). It found a reduction in market average claims cost per insured person and therefore recommended a decrease to some levies. One source familiar with the process told the Irish Independent that the rise in employment is leading larger numbers of younger people to sign up for health insurance. "This is having an impact on claims as the majority of these young professionals won't need serious medical attention," the source said. Health insurance expert Dermot Goode, of totalhealthcover.ie, said it's welcome news that the Government is not planning to raise the levy further. He said a 10pc hike that kicked in last April was a "shock" to the market that was passed on to consumers by the insurance companies. Mr Goode said that reducing the rate for the more basic cover is good "because it'll make it easier maybe for new entrants to come into the market". "In a nutshell any announcement either by the Government or by the insurance companies that basically means there will be no further costs increases being pushed through the system, or a reduction - that has to be welcomed," he said. The head of the National Union of Journalists has criticised proposed new data retention legislation for failing to give specific protections to reporters. NUJ Irish secretary Seamus Dooley criticised the omission at a hearing of the Oireachtas Justice Committee. The new laws have their genesis in a review conducted by former Chief Justice John Murray, who was asked to investigate the issue it emerged the mobile phone records of two journalists had been accessed by the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission. Mr Justice Murray subsequently found that existing laws should be repealed as they amount to mass surveillance of the entire population of the State. He also recommended that the data of journalists should not be accessed by any State agency unless the journalist is the subject of a criminal investigation. However, the general scheme of a new Communications (Data Retention) Bill 2017, published simultaneously with the Murray review last month by Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, states a persons metadata, location and subscription data can be accessed only if the person is found to be involved in a serious offence or is posing a serious threat to the State. But it does not include specific limits on when the data of journalists can be accessed. The omission has given rise to concerns about the protection of journalists sources. While Mr Justice Murray also recommended applications for accessing data should be made to a High Court judge, the bill makes provision for District Court justices to act as authorising judges. Mr Dooley told the committee it "beggars belief" some of Mr Justice Murray's recommendations were set aside. The NUJ believes that the highest level of protection, under both Irish Constitutional and international law, must be afforded to journalists in respect of privacy in their communications, he said. The media plays a crucial role in maintaining accountability and transparency in the workings of civic society in a democratic state. Mr Dooley said that where the rights of the media were undermined, the ability of journalists to shine a light into the darkest corners is also curtailed. He said the existing law in the area, the Communications (Retention of Data) Act 2011, was being applied indiscriminately and could be used to identify sources. Location data linking a journalists telephone calls with those of another caller before or after a sensitive meeting in which that person was known to have been involved can fatally compromise confidential sources of information, including from whistleblowers, said Mr Dooley. A written submission to the committee from NewsBrands, the organisation representing 16 national newspapers, also expressed grave concerns about the general scheme of the bill. It noted that parts of the existing law were effectively invalidated last December by a European Court of Justice ruling. But the new proposals do not remedy the situation as they are silent on material which could identify confidential sources. Irish Council for Civil Liberties executive director Liam Herrick also expressed concern to the committee. We know this is an area of great potential risk that the State and State agencies may always have an interest, legitimate or very often illegitimate, in identifying the relationship between journalists and sources, he said. We in Ireland have a particular history in this issue, going back to cases in the 1970s and 1980s, where under the cover of national security investigations or other legitimate purposes, State agencies sought information about the relationship between journalists and sources which might have certainly stepped over into the political sphere. I DID a bit of grocery shopping in Lidl in Thurles last week. What else would you be doing on a crisp November day with a big, black electric Tesla Model S at your disposal? I'd driven one before for a while. But this time it was all about doing the everyday things with it; up close and personal over a few days and nights. How would it (from 91,395, car on test 105,847) really translate onto Irish needs and conditions? I drove under all sorts of conditions during my 500km stint at the wheel of what is one of the most talked-about cars of recent years. Think diesel Mercedes S-Class rival on electric charge. Would I buy it over the Merc, I asked myself? First off, I left Dublin at 10:06. I was in Lidl Thurles at 12:06 after stopping to make/take a couple of calls (including one from nature). I'd started with 386km in the battery. I had 170km left in Thurles. I'd driven at motorway speed (110kmh/120kmh) nearly all the way on cruise control. It was effortless. The 17ins display/tablet in the middle of the dash covers and controls everything - there are no buttons. Better still, it has the best satnav out there. I keyed in Thurles Lidl and that's where it took me. No stupid questions about zip codes or city streets. Others please copy. Just don't expect to understand some of the placenames the voice comes up with. Hilarious. Think old Gaelic with Cantonese intonation. Of relevance too is a criticism: there were no hooks to secure the shopping and laptop bags in the boot. Via Two-Mile-Borris the next stop was Ballacolla (Topaz) where Tesla have their supercharging station (eight points). Satnav had me there in no time, with 126km left on charge. It's so simple. You flip open the little red reflector lens on the left rear light cluster, plug in and leave the charger to do its work. ALL chargers should be this simple. Why not? It certainly got to work; the kilometre range ticked up fast. This is a model for recharging cars. I headed for a cup of tea, a muffin, another muffin, did a bit of work on the laptop and headed back. There was 383km in the tank. All in well under an hour. I arrived in Dublin with 225km to spare. I plugged in at the house; a token gesture. I drove around (errands, gym), picked up the daughter from the airport. And still I had 140km left even after heavy use of headlights and climate control. I wasn't worried. The only annoyance was the noisy wipers and previous generation Mercedes' steering wheel/ switchgear, which is at odds with the look/feel of cabin 'S'. My single biggest crib was the chassis's poor ability to absorb smaller surface abrasions, even on motorways, and the choppy feeling over anything but the smoothest of surfaces anywhere. Partly to blame was the coil suspension, now discarded in favour of air. That might alter perspectives. Something to watch for. There's still a kick to come, but up to this point I have to say I'd enjoyed this immensely. Even after the 'newness' wore off, I felt there was a substantial intelligent, intuitive machine at my disposal. I could live with it on a daily basis. I'd plug it in overnight on the special wall connector (around 1,500 all in) and not worry about range. My instinct is my basic model would do 300kmh without (the Model X SUV claims 600km+ range). Noticeable too was the level of regeneration of energy (slowing, braking). It can give a battery boost if your driving is urban for any appreciable time. Third and last day with it, I intended bringing the cousin for a spin. I planned on charging at Enfield but some instinct prompted me to do so at Topaz Templeville Road, Templeogue (satnav excellent again). Only the blinking charging point wouldn't charge. Not with a Tesla anyway, I was told by eCars. Everything fitted. I had a CHAdeMO adapter. Nothing. That's two weeks in a row this has happened with an eCars public charger. Doesn't instil confidence, does it? And the fast charger at Stillorgan Luas was occupied by a Nissan Leaf. It left a bit of a sour taste. We have the cars; we need real availability, accessibility and help with the charging Points.Yet I left it back quite buoyed by the experience. The car is indisputably impressive in many areas. It is not by any means as well put together as a Merc S-Class; I won't labour the deficit of ride/handling quality with coils. But as an electric, digital entity primarily in its first major incarnation, it can't be rivalled. I've no doubt Mercedes, BMW et al will ultimately give Tesla a run for its money but for now this Model S is a benchmark. So I'd buy it, then? Probably not. I'd wait for a better fast-charge network, more superchargers and see what's what in electric cars for a couple of years. But of course in an ideal world I'd be tempted. There isn't anything like it. KEY FACTS They claim 3,000/year (40,000kms) savings over a conventional engine, with a 75kW battery pack. 0-100kmh in 4.4 seconds - it is really quick. Two electric motors = all-wheel drive. 120 road tax. A 'fill' can cost around 12 on a home charge. Too long on a 3kW charger (25 hours from empty). Much quicker on a home 7kWh Wall Connector. Or with 16kW destination chargers, or superchargers (up to 270km in half an hour). New BIK 0pc rate for company car users makes EV attractive. But after grants it's still pricey at around 100,000. Free software updates for car's lifetime. Battery under floor. Rear seats elevated. Can have rear-facing jump seats; 17ins centre touchscreen - media, satnav, communications, cabin control, vehicle data. Intuitive interface. Several functions mirrored on instrument panel. Standard: AEB, collision avoidance, cruise control. Enhanced Autopilot an option. Supercharger gets you 400kW hours free each year (about 1,600kms). After that it's 20c/kWh - 100 for 1,000 kms. Voice command wasn't great. Four-year warranty (or 80,000km); eight years for battery. Four-year warranty on used versions. SO I'm a moron, a fool, an idiot. I should be drop-kicked into the next parish and then the one after that. I should be arrested for potentially causing an accident. Did I not know anything about driving on a motorway? And all because I said some (I stress some) other motorists, including drivers of ordinary cars, trucks and SUVs, bullied me for driving at 90kmh on the inside lane of two motorways. Read More Despite the invective, the facts don't change and nor do my opinions. Nor do the opinions of many motorists who have contacted me to say they've endured similar experiences. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't taken aback by the thousands of responses, especially from truck drivers. I didn't pick them out but they sure picked on me. I still stand by every word. But I am getting into a truck for a day so I can "see the other side", as one invitee suggested. I don't know what good it will do, but I'm really looking forward to it. And I'll let you know how I get on. Read More Meanwhile... * They are making only 1,499 of a special 1499 GT Mini for the UK and Irish market. The special edition (pictured), including John Cooper Works styling and special graphics, pays homage to one of the classic Minis, the 1275 GT. * For the record: The EU is proposing a 30pc cut in CO2 emissions from cars and vans by 2030. That is a 30pc drop on those for 2021. So the fleet average of 95g/km for 2021 will have to go to 66g/km. You get my drift? We're talking major surgery. Some people feel it's not enough and that German political might prevailed for softer treatment. Others feel it will hit us all hard in the pocket because diesel and petrol will be hammered in favour of far more electric vehicles being developed. The thing is 2030 isn't that far off when you factor in planning and development time to make radically cleaner cars. * The Volkswagen Beetle is set to go electric and rear-wheel drive, reports say. * Uber flying taxi cars will take to the skies in 2020, the firm says. It claims an airborne service will be cheaper and safer than a standard car. They've obviously studied Irish driving habits. Some people drive like they are airborne. * Opel is planning a new SUV for 2019 with seven seats. There will be a plug-in hybrid too. * Honda's Brexit warning could not be clearer. It says it could not absorb a 10pc tariff that could be imposed on UK-built cars if Britain switches to World Trade Organisation rules post-Brexit. Scotland's biggest city makes for a surprisingly good family break, says Jillian Bolger. Set the mood The tourist board's slogan, 'People Make Glasgow', is bang on the money. Scotland's biggest city is a friendly, vibrant choice for a brilliant family break. Culturally rich, the mix of museums, Scottish heritage, glorious Victorian and Art Nouveau architecture and industrial roots has turned this fascinating city into a cool, buzzing metropolis. We visited recently with our kids and found it compact to explore - with diverse neighbourhoods and an impressive collection of museums, attractions and galleries that are easy to navigate, should the weather turn. Add in the warm Scottish welcome, affordable dining in an improving food scene and great shopping and you've found a cool, captivating getaway that's just an hour or so's flight from three Irish airports. Guilty Pleasure Expand Close Glasgow Science Centre / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Glasgow Science Centre A real-life laboratory with plenty for every age, Glasgow Science Centre (glasgowsciencecentre.org; 13/11) is like a giant play centre for the mind, where technology and science collide in a Disney-like experience. Floor upon floor is packed with mind-blowing exhibits, cool experiments, interactive displays, learning activities, fun shows, demos and puzzles to challenge and entertain kids, teens and adults. Splurge on the planetarium experience (an extra 4 each) and enjoy a fun journey through outer space learning about the universe. With two acres of displays, games and exhibits, you could easily spend a full weekend in this enchanting high-tech place. Cheap Kick Expand Close Glasgow / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Glasgow Much more than a simple transport museum, the Zaha Hadid- designed Riverside Museum (glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/riverside; free) holds more than 3,000 displays - from bikes to boats, trams to trains and a huge wall of cars ranging from vintage gems to sporty icons. It's designed around three historical street scenes, complete with life-like shops and businesses to explore. With a kids' treasure hunt and interactive displays, the museum also hosts Glenlee, a restored tall ship from 1896, berthed outside. Top Tips Expand Close Kelvingrove Gallery & Museum / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kelvingrove Gallery & Museum Pack comfy shoes and raingear for everyone - Glasgow is compact and easy to walk around, but the weather is changeable and the breeze can be cold, even in summer. The Kelvingrove Gallery & Museum (above, free) is a super rainy-day bet, with treasures as diverse as a Spitfire plane and Salvador Dali canvases. Also worth noting is the fact that Glasgow Airport (glasgowairport.com) runs free kids Craft Zones in the Departures area during peak times, including Easter, summer and the October mid-term. The zones open extra early and include art supplies, face painters and goodie bags. Theyre a great distraction for all ages. Hotel Intel Expand Close Village Hotel Club at Festival Gate, Glasgow / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Village Hotel Club at Festival Gate, Glasgow Within walking distance of the Glasgow Science Centre, IMAX and Riverside Museum, the stylish Village Hotel Club at Festival Gate is perfect for an affordable family break. Breakfast is good, and there's an in-house Starbucks, bar, restaurant and bright 20-metre pool. Comfortable family rooms sleep four, so larger families will need two interconnecting rooms. Rooms from 79/93, at village-hotels.co.uk. Glitches The Village Hotel Club's lovely pool welcomes children from 9-12pm and 2-7pm on weekends, with shorter hours during the week. If you're early risers, you may want to fit in a swim before heading out for the day. Get me there Aer Lingus Regional (aerlingus.com) operates four daily flights from Dublin to Glasgow (one-way fares from 19.99 including taxes and charges), four flights weekly from Cork (from 24.99) and three weekly from Donegal (from 29.99). Aer Lingus Regional is operated by Stobart Air. Glasgow Airport Express buses connect to the city centre every 10 minutes, with family return tickets at 24/28 (firstgroup.com). See also peoplemakeglasgow.com. Read more: Tom Sweeney jet-sets around Scotland's spectacular film and TV locations... from Harry Potter to Tobermoray! The Hogwarts Express There's no Platform 9 at Fort William station, but you can still travel on the Jacobite Steam Train, which doubled as the Hogwarts Express in the Harry Potter movies. The highlight of the 84-mile round trip on the West Highland Line to Mallaig - the most scenic rail journey in the world - is crossing the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct (above). Boy wizard fans and train buffs will love every magical minute. How: westcoastrailways.co.uk What's the Story in Tobermory? Expand Close Pastel painted: Tobermory. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pastel painted: Tobermory. The pastel-painted seaside town in children's TV favourite Balamory exists, though it's called Tobermory and is on the island of Mull. Sailing there from Oban (the hut on the pier serves the best seafood snacks in Scotland) is half the fun, as the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry cruises along sea lochs and past ancient castles. Tobermory Distillery is a big draw, and kids will adore the sea otters frolicking on the shore. How: calmac.co.uk, tobermorydistillery.com Faithful Bobby's dogged devotion Expand Close Life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Life-size statue of Greyfriars Bobby Forget Scooby Doo - the best-loved dog that ever lived was Greyfriars Bobby, the cute little Skye Terrier who sat pining by his master's grave for 14 years. Bobby, who died aged 16 in 1872, was the subject of two Hollywood movies (1961 and 2005) filmed in and around Edinburgh's Greyfriars Kirkyard, where he's buried. His grave and bronze statue are among the city's top tourist attractions and, as a bonus, the family must-see National Museum is right across the street. How: edinburghmuseums.org.uk Swords in Skye Expand Close Isle of Skye / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Isle of Skye Key scenes in new film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (opens March 24), starring Jude Law, Eric Bana and David Beckham, were shot in Wester Ross and on Skye. This is Scotland at its most spectacularly scenic and unspoiled, and a perfect area for touring. Picnic among the heather while stags play peekaboo and golden eagles glide in search of prey. All that's missing is the David Attenborough voiceover. How: visitscotland.com, kingarthurmovie.com PS: 007 Skyfall (2012) saw James Bond return to his estate in Glen Coe... Ian Fleming gave 007 Scottish roots as a tribute to Sean Connery. Read more: 2016 brings direct flights to Jamaica. Thomas Breathnach laps up the stereotypes and spontaneity of a Caribbean haven. The modern traveller is meant to carry an open mind. But sometimes, nothing welcomes you to a destination like the first flash of a national stereotype. As I touch down to a fireball sunset in Montego Bay, border officials welcome me with a melodic Creole lilt, a billboard of Usain Bolt festoons the arrivals hall, and Bob Marley's Buffalo Soldier is testing the subwoofer of my airport transfer. Nowhere seems to have trademarked relaxation quite like Jamaica, and with the Caribbean nation coming within direct reach of Ireland this year, I was set for a slice of the action. No sooner has Marley reached his first middle eight, than my jovial driver, Jermaine, is briefing me with the local lowdown. First up is the holy trinity of the Jamaican patois. I learn that 'yeamon' means 'yes', that 'irre' means 'alright' and that the Jamaican linguistic panacea of 'no problem' seems to culturally translate to 'it'll be grand'. At this point, I wasn't sure how the local lexicon spelled "tourism paddywhackery", but who was I to argue with the capital of cool - a country where strangers high-five you on the street, and business emails are signed off with "One Love"? The second largest island in the Caribbean (roughly the size of Cork plus Kerry), Jamaica's tourist scene hubs around the resorts of Montego Bay, Ochio Rios and Negril. The vibe of all three generally mirrors their predominant clientele: a fun-worshipping demographic, zip-coded somewhere between Ontario and the Jersey Shore. Expand Close Jamaica has plent to offer on the culinary front. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jamaica has plent to offer on the culinary front. With that, you can expect Margaritaville cocktail bars (think Starbucks for Pina Coladas), coconut-white beaches and luxury catamarans boarding a continuous cargo of booze-cruise chasers - not to mention full-moon parties, die-hard dolphin parks and Cool Runnings-themed toboggan rides. I find my refuge in Negril's super-luxe Rockhouse Hotel (rockhouse.com; 100pps). Its dreamy cluster of luxury, straw-roofed villas sees me waking up feeling like I've won the reward challenge on Survivor. As a true Caribbean utopia, my own private pool ladder sinks into a cove of coral. At Jamaica's most western point, sunsets offer stellar screensaver moments, and the vistas are even more dramatic off-shore at The Pelican Bar, an iconic watering hole set on stilts a mile out at sea. I arrive there with the aid of a local fisherman, while pelicans and frigate birds sail the skies like modern-day pterodactyls. Patrons are few, cocktails are mean and driftwood makes the perfect sun-lounger. Another journey takes me upstream along the Martha Brae, an exotic riparian heaven best known for its river rafting. This isn't white-water country, however, but rather home to Jamaican-style gondoliers who row eco-romantics down the river's lush rainforest banks (jamaicarafting.com; $30pp). I mount my bamboo vessel aided by one Mr Cee Walker, a salt-and-pepper bearded gent who welcomes me with a door-step smile. "Oh you're Irish," he notes, before relaying the historical ties between our islands. It's said that up to 80,000 Irish slaves were shipped to Jamaica during the colonial age, and the Jamaican accent is said to be related to the Irish brogue - particularly that of Cork. With a little imagination, I could have been in a taxi to Shandon. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Trademark relaxation: Jamaica. Snorkeling / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Trademark relaxation: Jamaica. While all Jamaican tourist activities deliver a craic-filled atmosphere, the national don't-worry-be-happy sentiment isn't likely to extend to your wallet. A widespread dual pricing system means most tourist attractions offer concessions for locals while hefty US Dollar rates apply to foreign tourists. A tip? Bring a supply of Greenbacks if you plan on doing the circuit. Beyond the turnstiles, Jamaica's Afro-Caribbean inspired cuisine is a huge draw. Fragrant goat curries, spicy jerk marinated chicken and cured salt-fish are just some of the highlights. For the best culinary buzz on the island, I strike for Stush in the Bush (stushinthebush.com), a Rastafarian organic restaurant set in the vulture-guarded hills overlooking Ochio Rios. It calls for an inland detour via vibrant scenes of rural Jamaica: stray goats grazing amid hibiscus blooms, ramshackle tractors motoring through sugar cane plantations. As I pass a chapel in the village of Freehill, scores of churchgoers are cooling down around an ice-cream machine. Sundae service, Jamaican-style. Expand Close Jamaica offers Cool Runnings-themed toboggan rides. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jamaica offers Cool Runnings-themed toboggan rides. Driving up the mountain roads, a dread-locked dude in a Bob Marley tee grinds up next to me in his Jeep. It's Chris Binns, who opened Stush in the Bush together with his wife Lisa. "We've created a piece of heaven up here," Binns explains. Sublime sweet potato gratin, fresh banana flambe and clinking jam jars of divine rum concoctions follow. With real food, real conversation and real people, this rugged pocket of the island is the Caribbean haven at its best. The stereotypes are sunny, but it's when I turn a little away from them that I really find my Jamaican dream. How to do it: Prices with Falcon Holidays (falconholidays.ie) start from 1,589pps for the three-star Holiday Inn Resort in Montego Bay, while 2,809pps with Thomson (thomsonholidays.ie) will buy you the five-star Couples Tower Isle in Ochio Rios. Both packages are all-inclusive, with flights on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner and transfers included, and are based on a 14-night stay. For more to see and do in Jamaica, see visitjamaica.com. What to pack: A water-resistant camera. Considering much of your time in the Jamaica will most likely be spent snorkelling, diving or simply swimming to the pool bar, investing in plunge-proof tech will easily double your photo memories and undoubtedly add to your Snapchat cred. For sweet options, Pixmania.ie offers a handy Nikon Coolpix for 89 while to capture even more action, entry level GoPros start from under 140. In most traumas, first there is the blow and then the bruise. Almost 10 years since our banks broke the country, the blows rain down. Yesterday, we learned that AIB is set to face sanctions from the Central Bank for overcharging thousands of customers on tracker mortgages. This bombshell comes only weeks after its chief Bernard Byrne promised to rebuild trust in the State-owned bank. At the end of last month, the five core banks all apologised unreservedly to the affected customers in a series of statements. That had to mean something ... or did it? For last week we learned that Bank of Ireland had somehow stumbled upon 6,000 more tracker cases that urgently need sorting. For too long the banks have got away with it. How can their boards, their chief executives, the Central Bank, and our Government stand over this? At what point can the people of this country expect to get justice? When will the people who have lost their homes and have had their lives ruined get back what was so wrongly taken? Sources in AIB yesterday claimed they were "shocked" by the watchdog's move. Not quite so shattered as those courageous people who appeared before the Oireachtas committee to tell how their lives were torn apart by the banks. The very people without whose testimony there appeared to be little or no political resolve to bring real pressure on our lending institutions. After all the appalling revelations, Central Bank Governor Philip Lane still had to reveal yesterday that the extent of the tracker scandal is set to widen. Earlier this year Michael Noonan said that banks should be punished for their "disgraceful" treatment of tracker mortgage customers. But nothing happened. Then Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe criticised the "disgraceful" behaviour of the banks and the "hurt" caused to borrowers - but decided against any immediate sanctions against lenders. It's almost a decade since Matt Taibbi unforgettably described Goldman Sachs, the world's most powerful investment bank, as a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money". Many wondered that if the banks had a sense of, or could imagine, the sufferings they were responsible for, they would surely make immediate restitution. We have had our fill of forlorn hopes, what we need now is actual enforcement. SF move gives the major parties food for thought IN the same week that party leaderpresident Gerry Adams marks his 34th year as leader, Sinn Fein is looking at the prospect of entering into a coalition after the next election. If its commitment to maintaining power in the North is anything to go by, all one can say is good luck with that. It is understood it will make what would mark an historic step on entering government in the south in the coming days by being open to coalition. This raises interesting issues for the established parties. It is nigh-on impossible to imagine that Fine Gael could find common ground with Sinn Fein, but in the event of it being the only partner available, will no really mean no for Fianna Fail? When the election band strikes up, strange things happen. As Nietzsche put it: And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. Harvey Weinstein is being sued by an actress who accuses him of raping her in a Beverly Hills hotel after they discussed a role in one of his shows. The actress, identified only as Jane Doe in court papers filed on Tuesday, is also suing the studio he co-founded, accusing it of deliberate indifference. She claims Weinstein first assaulted her in 2015 and then raped her in the Montage Hotel in spring last year after he discussed getting her a role in his Marco Polo TV series. Expand Close Harvey Weinstein / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harvey Weinstein Later, he telephoned her but she swore at him and hung up the phone and she was never given the role despite being told she was a perfect addition to the show, it is alleged by the accusers lawyer Gloria Allred. The woman is suing Weinstein for damages and compensation for lost wages for the alleged sexual battery, as well as suing at The Weinstein Company (TWC), which has sacked the producer. With deliberate indifference, the companies failed to take necessary, proper or adequate measures in order to prevent the violation of (the accusers) rights, Ms Allred wrote. The firm did not terminate him despite knowing, or should have known of, his long and well-known history of abusing and sexually harassing women based on sex, the suit added. A spokeswoman for Weinstein, 65, said he denies any allegations of non-consensual sex, adding: Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Expand Close Harvey Weinstein / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harvey Weinstein Video of the Day Police in London, New York and Los Angeles are investigating the producer who has been accused by dozens of women of sexual harassment and assault. TWC is also being sued by actress Dominique Huett who claims she was assaulted by Weinstein and the firm was negligent for knowing about his alleged offending. Weinstein is also suing TWC for access to his emails that he believes contain information exonerating him. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh stand next to a display of Spanish items from the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace, London, Britain July 12, 2017. REUTERS/Neil Hall/File Photo One of the first pictures of the new born Prince Andrew shows the baby in the Queen Elizabeth II's arms, 22 March 1960 in Buckingham Palace Queen Elizabeth broke royal tradition by having Prince Philip join her in the delivery room when she gave birth to Prince Edward. The British monarch had read in women's magazines about fathers being involved in childbirth and wanted to do the same, according to Ingrid Seward in her book, 'My Husband and I: The Inside Story Of 70 Years Of Royal Marriage'. Expand Close One of the first pictures of the new born Prince Andrew shows the baby in the Queen Elizabeth II's arms, 22 March 1960 in Buckingham Palace / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp One of the first pictures of the new born Prince Andrew shows the baby in the Queen Elizabeth II's arms, 22 March 1960 in Buckingham Palace She shared: "The Duke of Edinburgh was actually holding his wife's hand as their youngest was born on March 10, 1964. The Queen, by then aged 37, had asked him to be there; she'd been keenly reading women's magazines that stressed the importance of involving fathers in childbirth and had become fascinated by the idea. Thus Philip became the first royal father in modern history to witness the arrival of one of his children ... Compassion comes from the Queen. And the duty and discipline comes from him Philip." And the Queen liked to spend as much time as she could with her children and would let the nanny leave Edward playing on the floor of the study as she went over State papers. Seward added: "'Leave him with me, Mabel,' the Queen would say some mornings to the nanny, and he'd be left with his mother, playing on the floor of her study while she worked at her desk on her State papers." When Edward decided to leave the Royal Marines in 1987 after just four months, Philip was "most sympathetic". Seward shared: "Philip was in fact the most sympathetic. He understood his son's decision, which he considered a brave one, and supported him fully. Edward had explained to him that he felt he was never going to be able to fit in as well as he'd hoped. 'I was always going to have a policeman there,' he said. 'I could never go out with the rest of the lads into the town, as everyone knew who I was. I didn't see the way, really, it was going to work.' Many in their circle know that each has a personal preference for one son over the others. For the Queen, Andrew will always be her favourite, while for the Duke it is Edward." Victoria Smurfit, up early last Tuesday for the red eye from LA Actress Victoria Smurfit has spoken about her marital split as she finalised her divorce from Doug Baxter. The Dublin-born star, who now lives in LA, spoke about parting from her South African partner of 15 years in 2015. But far from wallowing in sadness, she took the opportunity to remark on the ironies of life. Expand Close Doug Baxter and Victoria Smurfit in 2009 / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Doug Baxter and Victoria Smurfit in 2009 The day my divorce was finalised, I was filming The Lears movie in a wedding dress, she said. "Proof that life has a bloody good sense of humour. Its a great reminder to always find the ludicrous in all that life decides to throw at you. She accompanied her Instagram message with a picture of her dressed as a bride. The movie tells the story of what happens when a dad-of-four decides to marry his PA. Victoria and Doug filed for divorce in a Californian court two years ago, but said they are the best of friends and intend to keep things that way for the sake of their tight-knit family. The mum-of-thee has since found happiness again with handsome film-maker boyfriend Alistair Ramsden. Speaking about life after divorce, she said: Its nice to know theres life in the old dog yet. Its a brave new world and modern families are being accepted so much more and Im really happy. Expand Close Victoria Smurfit and Alistair Ramsden / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Victoria Smurfit and Alistair Ramsden Victoria said that when it comes to thinking back on her years with Doug, she tries to focus on the positives. I think that hideous old adage about trusting yourself is something Ive only learned recently, she said. Its so hard to talk about this without sounding negative or like a victim, because Im not interested in any of that rubbish. I think no matter what, life comes with knocks, thats how it comes. Thats how you learn. Eoghan McDermott at the launch of the Heineken Star Series at The Ivy, Parliament Street. Picture Anthony Woods Eoghan McDermott at the opening of The Amber Rooms, Leesons Streets new VIP venue at The Stone Leaf. Picture: Patrick OLeary Eoghan McDermott has opened up about his relationship with girlfriend Aoife Melia, saying they are both "new people" after spending seven years apart. The 2FM presenter told Independent.ie that the pair have a "dual synergy" since reuniting this year. "Its been really lovely. Its kind of this dual synergy thing going on where I feel like shes a new person and visa versa and were getting to know each other." The couple dated while in college, but went their separate ways when Aoife, a doctor, moved away for seven years, during five of which Eoghan lived in London. Expand Close Eoghan McDermott at the opening of The Amber Rooms, Leesons Streets new VIP venue at The Stone Leaf. Picture: Patrick OLeary / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eoghan McDermott at the opening of The Amber Rooms, Leesons Streets new VIP venue at The Stone Leaf. Picture: Patrick OLeary "We went out years and years ago in UCD and she moved away for seven years and I had been in London for five of those seven years and so its just one of those random, chance happenings. We have all of this history so its lovely," said the 33-year-old. Although the new couple won't be spending Christmas together due to work commitments, Eoghan said they will celebrate the new year with one another. "Aoifes a doctor, so she pulled the short straw and is working Christmas Day," he said. "Her family is in Galway so shell finish her shift and head home to Galway, so Ill see her for an hour hopefully. Shes working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so well do New Year's Eve." New Year's Eve will be mixed with work and pleasure as Eoghan is a Three Music Ambassador and will be celebrating at the 3 Countdown Concert as part of the New Year Festival at Stephen's Green. The RTE star announced the new relationship in a sweet post on Instagram, saying they were "going for round two." Video of the Day "Met this firecracker 10 years ago! We've gone off & lived different lives in different countries, grown into different people, reconnected recently and are now going for round two - 7 years later. Life is so brilliantly random sometimes," he captioned the pic. Eoghan split with model Jo Archbold in April after two years together. "We were together for two years, and I guess with anyone you go into it in good faith, and its either going to be the relationship or its not and it wasnt," he said. The UK engineering headquarters of Airbus in Filton, Bristol Airbus is to sell 430 planes to US firm Indigo Partners for 49.5 billion dollars (37.5 billion) in the European firm's biggest deal ever. The announcement came at the Dubai Air Show and the deal includes 273 A320neos and 157 A321neos. The airlines that use the aircraft will include Frontier Airlines, based in Denver, JetSMART of Chile, Volaris in Mexico and Wizz Air of Hungary. A320neos list for 108.4 million dollars (82 million) apiece and A321neos at 127 million dollars (96 million), although airlines and manufacturers often negotiate lower prices for big deals like these. Indigo Partners is a Phoenix-based private equity firm which owns Frontier Airlines and part of Volaris. It is managed by William Franke, a pioneer of the cheap tickets and high fees airline business model that has spread overseas and is growing in the US. Airbus has its headquarters in Toulouse, France, and has major UK operations at Filton, near Bristol, and Broughton in North Wales. Airbus's biggest previous sale came in August 2015 when it sold 250 A320neos to Indian budget airline IndiGo, a deal estimated to be worth 26 billion dollars (20 billion) at list prices. IndiGo and Indigo Partners are separate firms with separate management. Until Wednesday, the only major deal announced at the Dubai Air Show came on Sunday when long-haul carrier Emirates purchased 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners in a 15.1 billion dollar (11.4 billion) deal. Airbus has pinned hopes of continuing production of its A380 double-decker jumbo jet on Emirates, the world's largest operator of the aircraft. Reports circulated before the air show that a major A380 sale would be coming. Airbus employees even filled a news conference on Sunday, expecting the A380 sale, instead to find state-owned Emirates making the deal with Boeing in front of Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Emirates now relies solely on the Airbus 380 and the Boeing 777, making it the largest operator of both. It has 165 777s in its fleet and took possession of its 100th A380 earlier this month. AP British explorer Benedict Allen has gone missing after attempting to find an indigenous tribe in Papua New Guinea, it is reported. The 57-year-old, who has previously recorded series for the BBC and written books on exploration, was on a journey to rediscover the Yaifo tribe. In a post on his website before setting off titled "I may be some time", Mr Allen said he was looking to meet with the tribe 30 years after discovering them for the first time. He said: "No outsider has made the journey to visit them since the rather perilous journey I made as a young man three decades ago. "This would make them the remotest people in Papua New Guinea, and one of the last people on the entire planet who are out-of-contact with our interconnected world." A helicopter dropped Mr Allen off at Bisorio without a satellite phone, GPS or companion and he was due back in the country's capital Port Moresby on Sunday to travel to Hong Kong. His agent Joanna Sarsby told the Daily Mail his wife Lenka was "very worried". She added: "He is a highly experienced explorer, very clever and resourceful and adept at surviving in the most hostile places on Earth, and he would never give up. He may not be a young man any more but he is very fit. "He was trying to reach the Yaifo people, a very remote and reclusive tribe - possibly headhunters, quite a scary bunch. Goodness knows what has happened. "I just imagine he might have been taken ill or is lying injured somewhere, perhaps with a broken leg, and maybe being helped by locals. He never takes a phone with him - he believes in living like the locals. For him not to come back is really odd." Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte attacked Canada's Justin Trudeau at the end of a summit of Asian and Western nations for raising questions about his war on drugs, a topic skirted by other leaders, including US President Donald Trump. At the traditional news conference by the host nation at the end of the summit yesterday, Mr Duterte was asked how he had responded to the Canadian prime minister raising the issue of human rights and extra-judicial killings in his anti-drugs drive. "I said I will not explain. It is a personal and official insult," the Philippines president said in the course of a rambling answer, although he did not refer to Mr Trudeau by name. "I only answer to the Filipino. I will not answer to any other bulls**t, especially foreigners. Lay off." Earlier in the day, Mr Trudeau told a news conference that during his meeting with Mr Duterte "the president was receptive to my comments and it was throughout a very cordial and positive exchange". Human rights activists had been hoping that leaders at the summit, including Mr Trump, would raise the issue of the thousands of users and small-time pushers killed in the campaign launched by Mr Duterte after he took office in mid-2016. There was no pressure from Mr Trump on the drugs war when he met Mr Duterte on Monday and the US president later said the two had a "great relationship". A joint statement after the meeting only said the two sides "underscored that human rights and the dignity of human life are essential, and agreed to continue mainstreaming the human rights agenda in their national programmes". Mr Duterte cursed Mr Trump's predecessor Barack Obama last year for raising concerns about the war on drugs and he subsequently declared he was breaking ties with the US, a close ally since World War II. The relationship appears to have got back on track after the bonhomie between him and Mr Trump. Mr Trudeau also said that he raised the issue of the exodus of Rohingya during a meeting with Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, another sensitive topic bypassed by most other leaders, although he did not mention the Muslim minority by name. MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 15: People in the crowd celebrate as the result is announced during the Official Melbourne Postal Survey Result Announcement at the State Library of Victoria on November 15, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Australia has followed Ireland in voting in favour of legalising same-sex marriage with by 61.6% to 38.4%. The postal survey saw 16 million registered voters among Australia's population of 24 million asked for their views on overturning the prohibition. With a turnout of 79.5%, the vote had a bigger turnout than the Brexit referendum and US presidential election. As the majority voted in favour, the parliament will vote by December on legislation to lift the prohibition. The poll is non-binding but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull immediately said he would fulfill a pledge to put a proposal to parliament to pass laws on marriage equality by the end of the year. "It is unequivocal, it is overwhelming," Turnbull said of the survey result. "They have spoken in their millions and they have voted overwhelmingly yes for marriage equality," he told reporters in Canberra. "They voted yes for fairness, yes for commitment, yes for love." The result marks a watershed moment for gay rights in Australia, where it was illegal in some states to engage in homosexual activity until 1997. Thousands of supporters who had gathered in a central Sydney park to mark the result broke into a loud cheer, hugged each other and cried as it was delivered live over a big screen by the country's chief statistician. The result boosted the carnival atmosphere with some people carrying banners declaring "our love is real" and many sheltering from the hot sun under rainbow umbrellas. Among the crowd were men and women wearing wedding dresses and corsets and sequined suits. The Donegal man working as Director of Australia's Equality Campaign has expressed his delight at the country's overwhelming vote for same-sex marriage. At around 11.20pm Irish time, Australia's chief statistician revealed that 61.6 percent of voters surveyed favoured marriage equality, with 38.4 percent against. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Supporters of the 'Yes' vote react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Melbourne, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Melanie Burton Members of Sydney's gay community react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a pub located on Sydney's Oxford street, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Supporters of the 'Yes' vote react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Melbourne, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Melanie Burton The result ties closely to Ireland's 2015 vote for marriage equality, where 62.07 percent voted for and 37.93 per cent voted against. Australia will become the 26th nation to formalise the unions if the legislation is passed by parliament, which is expected despite some vocal opposition within the government's conservative right wing. Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Members of Sydney's gay community react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a pub located on Sydney's Oxford street, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore A supporter of the 'Yes' vote holds a colourful flag as he celebrates after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Australian government senator Dean Smith, center, flanked by lawmakers who support marriage equality, speaks to journalists at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. Smith has drafted the prime minister's referred bill that could legalize same-sex marriage this year. (AP Photo/Rod McGuirk) Supporters of the 'Yes' vote hug each other as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray People celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Supporters of the 'Yes' vote react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Melbourne, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Melanie Burton Members of Sydney's gay community react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a pub located on Sydney's Oxford street, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore People celebrate after the announcement of the same-sex marriage postal survey result in front of the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. (David Crosling/AAP Image via AP) People celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull reacts as he speaks during a media conference regarding the outcome of the Marriage Equality survey in Canberra, Australia, November 15, 2017. AAP/Dean Lewins/via REUTERS Ian Thorpe, former Olympic gold medalist swimmer, stands with other supporters of the 'Yes' vote for marriage equality after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Supporters of the 'Yes' vote for marriage equality celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Supporters of the 'Yes' vote for marriage equality celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Supporters of the 'Yes' vote for marriage equality celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Members of Sydney's gay community react as they celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a pub located on Sydney's Oxford street, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Steven Saphore Irishman Tiernan Brady, who has been working on the campaign since April 2016 is delighted with the result, but says it doesn't come as too much of a shock. "The more I travelled, the more I realised the values of Australia are aligned with the values of Irish. It's no surprise at all that the results almost match that of Ireland's vote," he told Independent.ie. "It's been the most incredible journey. The Australian people are utterly phenomenal. It's like Ireland with hot weather. "Their message today is one of confidence in their values and their country. Their message to LGBTI people is one of generosity and inclusion. Their message to politicians is clear. it is time for them to do their jobs and pass marriage equality." 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 Read More: 'Here we go again Senior figures in Irelands marriage referendum help lead campaign for equality in Australia Despite the similarity to Ireland's result, Brady, who formerly worked as Political Director during Ireland's referendum, says there were enormous differences too. Expand Close People celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray "The great challenge we had here was the scale of the country. In Ireland, we could get up in the morning and drive to the other side of the county, have lunch and be home again later. We dont have that here. "The challenge from that, was how do you make sure people in towns and villages across Australia know how powerful their vote is." 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 Brady was originally brought to Australia in January 2015 to spend a few days speaking to advocacy groups, but was asked to front the campaign a few days into his trip. Since the announcement, which took place early in the morning in Sydney, Brady has been inundated with messages of support from well-known faces. Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close People celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray People celebrate after the announcement of the same-sex marriage postal survey result in front of the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. (David Crosling/AAP Image via AP) A supporter of the 'Yes' vote holds a colourful flag as he celebrates after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People celebrate after it was announced the majority of Australians support same-sex marriage in a national survey, paving the way for legislation to make the country the 26th nation to formalise the unions by the end of the year, at a rally in central Sydney, Australia, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/David Gray Read More: Australia voted YES for marriage equality and the internet is a lovely place to be "I think Australia should give Tiernan brady honorary citizenship, make him a Dame, and give him a kangaroo or a billabong or whatever," Panti tweeted. "He did an amazing job as Director of @AMEquality. Hell probably never come home now though." However, Mr Brady says he will be home in Bundoran for Christmas. "I missed Christmas last year and I still have an Irish mother, so you can't miss two in a row," he said. Mr Brady, who formerly worked with now defunct charity GLEN, will return to Australia in January and has yet to decide whether he will return to live in Ireland. An Irishman who travelled to Australia to lobby for a no vote has also offered his congratulations to Brady and the yes campaign. Read More: In Pictures: Rainbow celebrations as Australians vote for same-sex marriage Keith Mills, who also campaigned for a no vote in Ireland referendum, tweeted: "Congratulations to Tiernan Brady & Yes campaign in Australian marriage vote. Will be good to have him back in Ireland & to fight on the 99% of issues on which we agree." The voluntary poll was non-binding, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull immediately said he would fulfill a pledge to raise a bill in parliament with the aim of passing laws by Christmas. "It is unequivocal, it is overwhelming. They have spoken in their millions and they have voted overwhelmingly yes for marriage equality," Turnbull told reporters in Canberra after the survey results were announced. "They voted yes for fairness, yes for commitment, yes for love." The result marks a watershed moment for gay rights in Australia, where it was illegal in some states to engage in homosexual activity until 1997. Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has sparked outrage by evoking the Holocaust as he attacked German Chancellor Angela Merkel for opening the country's borders to migrants. "One cannot - even if there are decades between them - kill millions of Jews so you can bring millions of their worst enemies in their place," he told a French television show. Expand Close German Chancellor Angela Merkel Photo: Getty / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp German Chancellor Angela Merkel Photo: Getty "I know someone in Germany who took a young Syrian and after four days said, 'The greatest thing Germany invented was the Holocaust,'" he added. Several hundred people lodged official complaints about Lagerfeld's comments, the French media regulator said on Monday after he appeared on the 'Salut les terriens!' (Hello Earthlings!) talkshow on the C8 channel on Saturday. The veteran Chanel designer, who was born in Hamburg just as Adolf Hitler came to power, had earlier lambasted Mrs Merkel for taking more than one million asylum seekers since the migrant crisis of 2015. "Merkel had already millions and millions (of immigrants) who are well integrated and who work and all is well... she had no need to take another million to improve her image as the wicked stepmother after the Greek crisis," said Lagerfeld. "Suddenly we see the pastor's daughter," he said in reference to Merkel's father, who was a Protestant minister in the former East Germany. Lagerfeld, who is rarely afraid of controversy, said he was going to "say something horrific" before criticising the chancellor for the "huge error" of accepting so many refugees from war-torn Syria and elsewhere. "Look at France, the land of human rights, which has taken, I don't know, 10,000 or 20,000," he added. The French TV regulator, the CSA, said it had received several hundred complaints over the weekend about Lagerfeld's comment, and was looking at the prog- ramme. The designer was roasted for the outburst on social media, although some users also came to his defence. In this Nov. 8, 2017 file photo a Christie's employee looks over a necklace suspending a 163.41-carat, D colour flawless, IIA type diamond during a preview at the Christie's, in Geneva, Switzerland. The largest-ever D-flawless diamond to be put up for auction, mounted in a diamond and emerald necklace, sold for $33.7 million Tuesday night, Nov. 14, 2017, including buyer's fees. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP) An emerald and diamond necklace set with the largest flawless white diamond ever to come to auction has sold for a world record 33.5 million Swiss francs ($34 million), the star lot at a Geneva sale, Christie's said. The necklace, known as the Art of de GRISOGONO, Creation 1, has a rectangular diamond weighing 163.41 carats as its centrepiece. The stone, found in Angola in 2016, is framed on one side by rows of diamonds and on the other by pear-shaped emeralds. The buyer, bidding by telephone at Tuesday night's sale, will remain anonymous, Christie's said in a statement. The pre-sale estimate was $25 million to $30 million. The diamond is more than 40 percent larger than a flawless white oval diamond of 118.28 carats sold by rival Sotheby's in 2013 in Hong Kong for $30.6 million, yet the price fails to reflect that, said Tobias Kormind, managing director of 77Diamonds.com, Europe's largest online diamond jeweller. "This is a worrying sign for the top end of the diamond market suggesting it is not as immune as one would have hoped to downward price pressures caused by global factors such as the Chinese slowdown, Russian sanctions and lower oil prices," he said in a statement. The second top lot was a light pink diamond that belonged to French royalty for two centuries. Weighing 19.07 carats, it fetched 14.37 million Swiss francs, roughly double its pre-sale estimate, Christie's said. Called Le Grand Mazarin, it takes its name from Cardinal Mazarin, who become Frances Chief Minister in 1642 and assembled a gem collection. The stone then became part of the French crown jewels. During its 250 years in the French Crown Treasury, it belonged to four kings (Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI and Charles X), two emperors (Napoleon I and Napoleon III) and two empresses, Christie's said. It was sold to Frederic Boucheron, one of the favoured jewellers of Frances great families, at auction in 1887 before passing into a private collection. The new owner was not identified. At Sotheby's on Wednesday, the star lot will be "The Raj Pink", the world's largest known fancy intense pink diamond. Found in South Africa in 2015, it weighs 37.30 carats and is estimated at $20 million to $30 million. ($1 = 0.9859 Swiss francs) Credit checking group Experian has reported a 5% jump in half-year revenues, having seen a customer windfall in the wake of the Equifax data breach, but warned that tighter regulations could follow. The firm said it had a good start to its financial year, booking revenues of 2.19 billion US dollars (1.66 billion) for the six months to September 30, while operating profit rose 6% to 518 million US dollars (393 million). On a statutory basis, pre-tax profit fell 7% to 467 million US dollars (355 million). It noted strong growth in its business-to-business activities and good progress in consumer services. There was also a silver lining to the Equifax hack, which resulted in a raft of new customers for Experian. We witnessed a spike in enrolments in the immediate aftermath of the Equifax data breach, the company said. Normalising for this event, take-up rates have been strong and, over the balance of the year, we will introduce new features to build on and sustain this momentum. 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 Rival Equifax admitted in October that almost 700,000 UK consumers have had personal information accessed in the cyber attack, including partial credit card details, phone numbers, and drivers licence numbers. The Atlanta-based firm discovered the hack in July, but only informed consumers in September. Experian said the Equifax breach could result in heightened oversight in the industry and noted a rise in consumer protection-focused legislative and regulatory activity in its key markets. The Equifax data breach has resulted in increased legislative and regulatory activity, and may result in increased oversight of security matters. The notoriety of the breach has also increased in the near term the external risks associated with information security, the company said. Experian is also facing a higher number of consumer and class action suits in the US related to the Equifax breach, it noted. More broadly, Experian is facing uncertainty around tax legislations as well as the longer-term impact that Brexit will have on its UK business, which is already experiencing a modest decline in growth. However, a slowdown in the UK and Ireland was offset by strong performance across Latin America, the EMEA region covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as Asia Pacific. Organic revenues across the UK and Ireland business fell 3%, as a drop in its consumer services operations offset growth in its business to business activities. But Experian said it had taken important steps to reposition its consumer services business with the likes of free score offers that have helped generate scale by attracting nearly three million free members since its launch. We have started the year well and are on course to deliver stronger organic revenue growth as we move through the year, Experian chief executive Brian Cassin said. Looking ahead, we continue to expect good levels of growth for the year, with organic revenue growth in the mid single-digit range and stable margins as we invest in our operations and growth initiatives. Zimbabwe's military is in control of the capital and the state broadcaster, while holding President Robert Mugabe and his wife under house arrest. In what appeared to be a coup against the 93-year-old Mugabe - the world's oldest head of state - t he military was at pains to emphasise it had not staged a military takeover, but was instead starting a process to restore Zimbabwe's democracy. The military appears to have brought an end to Mr Mugabe's long, 37-year reign in what the army's supporters praised as a "bloodless correction." South Africa and other neighbouring countries were sending in leaders to negotiate with Mr Mugabe and the generals to encourage the transition. Citizens in Zimbabwe's capital Harare contributed to the feeling of a smooth transition by carrying on with their daily lives, walking past the army's armoured personnel carriers to go to work and to shops. Many who have never known any leader but Mr Mugabe waited in long lines at banks to draw limited amounts of cash, a result of this once-prosperous country's plummeting economy. Felix Tsanganyiso, who sells mobile airtime vouchers in Harare, said he was following the developments on WhatsApp. He said: "But I am still in the dark about what is happening. So far so good. We are going about our business without harassment. "My plea is that whoever takes over should sort out the economy. We are tired of living like this." The series of whiplash events followed Mugabe's firing last week of his deputy, which appeared to position the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to replace Emmerson Mnangagwa as one of the country's two vice presidents at a party conference next month. But the 52-year-old first lady is unpopular among many Zimbabweans for her lavish spending on mansions, cars and jewels. Last month she went to court to sue a diamond dealer for not supplying her with a 100-carat diamond she said she had paid for. Grace Mugabe has been known as the leader of the G40, a group of Cabinet ministers and officials in their 40s and 50s who are too young to have fought in Zimbabwe's war to end white-minority rule in Rhodesia. When Mr Mnangagwa was fired, the generals and war veterans felt they were being sidelined and took action to stop that, analysts say. Mr Mnangagwa's whereabouts were not clear Wednesday. He fled the country last week, citing threats to himself and his family. Critics of the government urged Mr Mugabe to go quietly. "The old man should be allowed to rest," former Zimbabwe finance minister and activist Tendai Biti told South African broadcaster eNCA. In a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, Maj. Gen. Sibusiso Moyo said the army had "guaranteed" the safety of Mr and Mrs Mugabe, but added the military would target "criminals" around him, in an apparent reference to the first lady's G40 group. South African President Jacob Zuma said he was sending his ministers of defence and state security to Zimbabwe to meet with Mugabe and the military there. He said he hopes Zimbabwe's army will respect the constitution and that the situation "is going to be controlled." In Washington, the US State Department said the Trump administration was "concerned by recent actions undertaken by Zimbabwe's military forces" and called on the country's leaders to exercise restraint. The United States "does not take sides in matters of internal Zimbabwean politics and does not condone military intervention in political processes", it said in a statement. Who will rule Zimbabwe should become clearer in the coming days. "There is a soft transition underway," said Zimbabwean analyst Alex Rusero. "The whole idea is that the military has always been the chief broker" in Mr Mugabe's ruling party, he said. "But there were attempts to sideline the military by G40 and (the military) are reasserting their position." Mr Mnangagwa may well be installed as a transitional leader to return Zimbabwe to constitutional rule, Mr Rusero said. Zimbabwe may enter a period of negotiation to get Mr Mugabe to step down voluntarily, said Piers Pigou, southern Africa consultant for the International Crisis Group, who also suggested Mr Mnangagwa may be an interim leader. "Zimbabwe could have some kind of inclusive government and some kind of democratic process, possibly leading to elections," Pigou said. "It's clearly a coup d'etat, but typical of Zimbabwe, the military is trying to put a veneer of legality on the process... It is part of the theatre that Zimbabwe is so good at, to try to make things look orderly and democratic. "South Africa and other neighbouring countries may be brought in to help put some lipstick on the pig." AP The wife of a gunman who went on a shooting rampage in a northern California town has been found dead inside their home. Investigators discovered the body of Kevin Janson Neal's wife hidden under the floor. They believe her murder was the start of the rampage, said Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston. Neal shot and killed four other people and wounded 10 at different locations around the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve. Police later shot and killed him. At the time of the attack, the gunman was out on bail after he was charged with stabbing a neighbour. Others had complained about him firing hundreds of rounds from his house, and he had been the subject of a domestic violence call the day before the shootings. Yet Neal was free and able to use a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns on Tuesday to shoot 14 people, including at an elementary school, before he died in a shootout with police. It is not yet clear what the terms of Neal's bail were, and whether he would have been allowed to possess and fire the weapons on his property at the end of a dirt road in Rancho Tehama Reserve. But his many contacts with authorities raised questions of why he was out of custody and able to go on the 45-minute rampage. Two of his neighbours were killed in an apparent act of revenge before he went looking for random victims. Cristal Caravez and her father live across a ravine from the road where the gunman and his first victims lived. She said they and others heard constant gunfire from the area of the gunman's house but could not say for sure it was him firing. "You could hear the yelling. He'd go off the hinges," she said. "It (shooting) would be during the day, during the night, I mean, it didn't matter." She and her father, who is president of the homeowners association, said neighbours would complain to the sheriff's department, which referred the complaints back to the homeowners association. The gunman's sister, Sheridan Orr, said her brother had struggled with mental illness throughout his life and at times had a violent temper. Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said Neal was facing charges of assaulting one of the feuding neighbours in January and that she had a restraining order against him. Neal's mother told the Associated Press her son, who was a marijuana grower, was in a long-running dispute with neighbours he believed were cooking methamphetamine. The mother, who spoke on condition she be named only as Anne because she fears for her safety, lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she raised Neal. She said she posted his 160,000 US dollar (121,000) bail and spent 10,000 dollars (7,500) on a lawyer after he was arrested in January for stabbing a neighbour. Police said surveillance video shows the shooter unsuccessfully trying to enter a nearby elementary school after quick-thinking staff members locked the outside doors and barricaded themselves inside when they heard gunshots. Mr Johnston said the gunman spent about six minutes shooting into Rancho Tehama Elementary School before driving off to continue shooting elsewhere. One student was shot but is expected to survive. He said the 45-minute rampage ended when a patrol car rammed the stolen vehicle the shooter was driving and killed him in a shootout. AP Earthquake survivors carry their belongings in front of damaged buildings in Sarpol-e-Zahab (Vahid Salemi/AP/PA) Many survivors in Iran are still awaiting aid on Wednesday, three days after a powerful earthquake along the Iraq border killed hundreds of people. The delay in getting help to the needy came as public order broke down in many instances where aid was being delivered in the Iranian Kurdish region. Officials said families that were not affected by the quake rushed and took some of the aid supplies. The police said they deployed forces to secure aid distribution and prevent more chaotic outbreaks. Many in the Kurdish town of Sarpol-e Zahab - home to half the casualties from the quake - told The Associated Press they still have not received aid and they needed help to remove debris so they could try to get to their damaged homes and retrieve some essential belongings. Reports said more than 12,000 tents were distributed in the area, though more than 30,000 houses were affected by the quake - 15,500 of them completely destroyed. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for continued aid shipments to the area ahead of the "cold weather and difficult cold season". Iranian officials blamed the slow aid in part on the chaotic situation in the stricken region. Interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told an open session of the parliament on Wednesday that a total of 36,000 tents had been sent to the region, including those already distributed. Many families unaffected by the earthquake went to aid distribution places and took supplies that were not meant for them, Mr Fazli added. Because of a lack of public order, some dispatches of aid deliveries were "blocked" before reaching their destination, he continued. Morteza Salimi, of the Iranian Red Crescent, told state TV that despite there being enough aid supplies, "there were some problems in distributing the relief ... safety and security were violated". Iran's deputy police chief General Eskandar Momeni visited the area and said his forces would ensure "security for the distribution of assistance". Deputy health minister Qasim Janbabaei warned of the dangers of water-borne infectious diseases amid damage to health centres and water chlorination plants. He said the area also needs antibiotics. The region, which was already rebuilt in the decades since Iran's devastating 1980s war with Iraq, was hit by the magnitude 7.3 earthquake on Sunday night. The official IRNA news agency said 530 were killed while state TV put the number at 432. In Iraq, nine people were killed and 550 were injured, all in the country's northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish region, according to the United Nations. AP South Korea is to deport an American man detained for allegedly attempting to cross the mine-strewn border into North Korea. South Korean soldiers caught the man, aged about 59 and from Louisiana, entering a civilian-controlled area just south of the two and a half mile-wide Demilitarised Zone without government approval on Monday. The DMZ, created at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, serves as a de facto border between the Koreas. The man told investigators he believed his trip to North Korea would help resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula, according to South Korea's military. A local police agency, which later took the man into custody from the military, said it will send him to the immigration office for deportation. The decision was made in line with the law that allows deportation of foreigners in case they pose a threat to public interests and security, said an officer at Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency. The man was carrying extra underwear at the time of his arrest and nothing else, and did not have any equipment to scale over barbed wire fences installed along the DMZ, senior South Korean military officer Suh Wook said. Americans have been occasionally arrested after entering North Korea illegally from China, but a US citizen trying to get in from South Korea is unusual. In 2014, another US citizen was arrested by South Korean soldiers for allegedly trying to swim across a river to North Korea. South Korean media described him as a 29-year-old computer technician from Texas who hoped to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The same day the Louisiana man was arrested, North Korean troops in the same western portion of the DMZ fired at a comrade who fled to the South at a jointly controlled DMZ area. The soldier remains in serious condition at a South Korean hospital following two operations. AP At just Rs.148, customers can enjoy unlimited local and STD calls with a validity of 28 days along with 2GB data. The company has also launched a high data benefit plan best-suited for users who enjoy an expanse of data services every day with unlimited talktime. At Rs. 349 customers can get high speed 1GB data per day and unlimited calling (local and STD) with a long validity period of 56 days. In addition to these two unlimited plans, customers can enjoy Local and STD Calls to any network at just 20 paisa per minute with a First Recharge Plan of Rs.64 or the Special Tariff Voucher of Rs. 22 (for existing users). All these plans are applicable across all the handsets. Speaking about these new products, Sanjiva Jha, CBU Head Tata Teleservices Limited, Uttar Pradesh and Uttrakhand and East circles said, As always, our new tariffs are designed to offer maximum value to both our existing and new customers and with no hidden conditions. We believe that our Unlimited Voice Combo Plans bring unmatched benefits that will enable customers to talk freely while the generous bundle of high speed data will help them stay connected always, over a seamless network. Moreover these plans are available for all users and handsets with no restrictions whatsoever. New Delhi, Nov 15 (IBNS): India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), the public sector undertaking under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism, posted a significant performance in half yearly results of the current financial year 2017-18. The total turnover in H1 ending September 2017 increased to Rs. 172.49 cr as compared to Rs. 170.94 cr in the corresponding H1 last year. The company registered Profit Before Tax (PBT) at Rs. 14.18 cr as compared to Rs. 9.59 cr in the corresponding H1 last year i.e. 2017-18, an increase of 48 % as compared to the last financial year. These details were announced in the Board of Directors meeting of the company at the Groups flagship hotel, The Ashok, New Delhi on Tuesday. The momentum generated in last financial year has also continued in first half of the financial year 2017-18. The event was unfolded traditionally to the beat of 111 Nagadas (kettle drums) at Gopal Maidan, Bistupur. The theme for Samvaad 2017 is `Aspiration of Tribal Youth & Leadership for Future. The opening ceremony was attended by tribal guests and opinion leaders, senior executives from Tata Steel and Group companies, among others. Sunil Bhaskaran, VP, Corporate Services, Tata Steel while addressing the gathering said, This is the fourth edition of Samvaad and the theme for this year welcomes tribal youth to share their personal stories. We look forward to cross pollination of ideas and participation of tribal leaders not just from India but from five different companies as well. The event will witness an exchange of thoughts on critical issues including malnutrition, tribal medicine, livelihood, indigenous culture, heritage, arts and inheritance with the visiting guests and Indias very own tribal communities who will travel from the length and breadth of India. 103 tribes from 127 districts representing 21 Indian states will be converging at Samvaad 2017. As part of this years theme, 500 tribal youth including young men and women representing 103 tribes would go through a structured leadership programme which will be imparted through a series of workshops that would be conducted by eminent subject matter experts at Tribal Culture Centre, Sonari. The young lot will be sharing their tales of transformation, struggles, sacrifices and successes. The likes of Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, Padma Shri Shantha Sinha etc will delve deep in discussions with these youths to bring out the best in them. Biren Bhuta, CSR Chief, Tata Steel further added, Tribals representing various indigenous communities have gathered here for the 4th edition. Samvaad celebrates the very essence of being tribal and will help preserve and celebrate the individual identity of all tribal people representing their communities. Patna, Nov 15 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): Truckers in Bihar have announced to go on an indefinite strike starting Wednesday midnight to protest the new mining and road transport & safety laws of the state government, according to media reports. During the strike, around two lakh truckers and other carrier vehicles are expected to go off the roads, which is likely to paralyse the state economy. Under the new mining law, the government has banned carrying of minerals from other states, which is a repressive act. We strongly oppose this move of the government, Bihar Motors Transport Federation president Uday Shankar Singh told the media on Wednesday. He added the transport industry took a hit after the state government banned sand mining. Various truckers associations, including the All India Road Transport Workers Federation, have lent full support to the truckers' strike in Bihar. thebiharpost.com/IBNS New Delhi, Nov 15 (IBNS): The Election Commission of India has barred the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from using word 'Pappu', which refers to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, in their advertisement campaigns, media reports said. The BJP were using word 'Pappu' to target Gandhi in the poll campaigns in Gujarat. The saffron brigade uses the word to ridicule the Congress vice president onsocial media. The word loosely means "fool". Asking to remove 'Pappu' form the ad. campaigns, the EC said the word is "derogatory". The poll in Gujarat will be conducted in two phases, on Dec. 9 and 14. The poll counting will take place on Dec. 18. Presently the BJP is ruling Gujarat under chief minister Vijay Rupani. The BJP is ruling in the state since 1995. Image: twitter.com/OfficeofRG New Delhi, Nov 15 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said he is looking forward to meet US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka when she visits India to attend the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). Ivanka tweeted :"This week, Global Entrepreneurship Week, spotlights the incredible contributions of innovators across the globe. I am excited to join many of these remarkable entrepreneurs with Prime Minister @narendramodi in India for #GES2017 in just two weeks!" Modi was quick in replying: "We look forward to welcoming you @IvankaTrump. Closer economic cooperation between India and USA helps our people, particularly our talented and innovative entrepreneurs." The Summit will begin from Nov 28. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati received the 2022 Adepi Award * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the World Intellectual Property Review's "Influential Women in IP" of 2020. * PermaKat Eleonora Rosati listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2018. * IPKat founder and Blogmeister Emeritus Jeremy Phillips listed as one of the Managing Intellectual Property magazine's "Fifty Most Influential People" of 2005, 2011, 2013, and 2014. * Recommended by the European Patent Office as reading material for candidates for the European Qualifying Examinations, 2013. * Listed as "Top Legal Blog" in The Times Online, March 2011. 2010 ABA Journal 100. * One of the only two non-US blogs listed in the Blawg100. * Court Reporter Top Copyright Blog award winner, November 2010. * Number 1 in the 2010 Top Copyright Blog list compiled by the Copyright Litigation Blog, July 2010. * Selected by the United States Library of Congress for inclusion in its historic collections of Internet materials related to Legal Blawgs as of 2010. * Top Patent Blog poll 2009: 3rd out of 50 in the "Favourite Patent Blog" poll and 2nd out of 50 in the "Most-read" poll. Blog of the Year, 20 August 2008. * ComputerWeekly IT Law and Governance, 20 August 2008. Mumbai, Nov 15 (IBNS): While Sanjay Leela Bhansali directorial film Padmavati is facing widespread criticisms from fringe groups, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone, who is playing the protagonist's role in the movie, said people have regressed as a nation, media reports said. Reacting to the row, Padukone said "It's appalling, it's absolutely appalling. What have we gotten ourselves into? And where have we reached as a nation? We have regressed." The actress even said nothing can stop the release of the film. In a recent development, a Kota mall has been vandalised by Shri Karni Sena members to protest against the release of Padmavati. The protest is mainly against Bhansali for allegedly distorting the history in Padmavati, a period-film scheduled to release on Dec. 1. The Karni Sena members even organised a massive protest in Bengaluru on the same issue on Wednesday. Padukone was earlier seen to urge Information and Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani to take legal actions after few protesters who had vandalised artist Karan K's Rangoli, which was inspired by film Padmavati. The Supreme Court has recently dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) demanding a stay on the release of Bhansalis film Padmavati. The top court suggested that the Censor Board should take an independent view over the issue, saying it cant substitute role of CBFC. The petition said that the film wrongly depicts Rajput queen Padmavati and its release could hurt the sentiments of the Rajput community. The trailer of the film shows Rani Padmavati doing a Ghoomar dance. The depiction of Rani Padmavati in the said dance sequence is contrary to how the dance is performed traditionally. The queens never used to do Ghoomar and the thumkas (hip movement) themselves and the revelation of skin by actress Deepika Padukone, in her portrayal of Padmavati, has hurt the sentiments of the Rajput community, the petition said. The film starres Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor in lead roles. Bahansali released a video statement on the films official Twitter account on last Thursday calling the film his tribute to the sacrifice, valour and honour of Rani Padmavati. The film has evoked a massive controversy with various Rajput groups, including the Karni Sena, threatening to disrupt its screening for what they alleged "distorting historical facts." Bhansali once was slapped by some members of the Karni Sena, who vandalised the set early this year. The set of the movie was again vandalised in Kolhapur, with the miscreants burning the costumes in March this year. Image: facebook.com/DeepikaPadukone Speaking over the phone to journalists in Geneva, Jamie McGoldrick, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, called for the reopening of the countrys major import hubs, Hodeida and Saleef, along with Sanaa airport. Smaller ports such as Aden in southern Yemen and Jazan which is in neighbouring Saudi Arabia lack the capacity to handle the amount of fuel, food and medicines thats needed, Mr McGoldrick said. Coming from Jazan in the north or coming from Aden in the south to serve the bulk of the population that we have identified, in the northern part of the country, it would be very difficult in many places because of for security issues, because of logistical issues he said. This would increases the cost of supplies by an estimated $30 per metric tonne and this is something that would then reduce the amount of money we have to serve the population and right now our humanitarian response plan is only 57 per cent funded, explained McGoldrick. He said that Yemen has just 20 days worth of diesel left in the north, and three months reserves of wheat, adding that while he has heard reports that Aden and other ports were opening, there has been no confirmation of it. The decision to blockade Yemen was taken by the Saudi-led coalition engaged there in a three-year war against Houthi militants, which, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), has left more than seven million close to famine and 21 million needing assistance in one of the worlds poorest countries. With humanitarian supplies dangerously low, McGoldrick warned that keeping famine and disease at bay risks setbacks. Suffering worsens in Yemen With the closure of land, sea and air borders now entering its second week, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed alarm at the worsening humanitarian situation. Over the past week, the closures have prevented humanitarian and commercial supplies and restricted the movement of aid workers. They are also placing new economic strain on a civilian population already suffering through many months of conflict, said UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler at the regular press briefing in Geneva. As a result, continued Spindler, our staff and those of our partners are seeing an increase in the number of civilians seeking humanitarian help. Vulnerable populations including internally displaced people, refugees and asylum seekers are especially hard-hit. The spokesperson reminded reporters that since the conflict began in March 2015, it has become the worlds largest humanitarian crisis, affecting 21 million people. Two million internally displaced people, a million returnees and 280,000 refugees and asylum seekers are all struggling to survive through increasingly prolonged displacement, he stressed, adding that worsening conditions have also led to child labour and early marriage. Together with other members of the humanitarian community in Yemen, UNHCR is advocating for the border closures to be lifted without delay. The closures are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, posing a critical threat to the millions struggling to survive, Spindler concluded. Photo: UNHCR/Shabia Mantoo Source: www.justearthnews.com With the end of the election cycle, the time for action now moves ahead of the time for excuse, Zahir Tanin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the head of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), told the Security Council Tuesday. It is important that the potential for embarking on a sustainable peace process not be hindered by inflexibility or simple inaction, he added, calling all parties to play their part in the process. In his briefing, Tanin informed the Security Council that 40 new judges and 13 new state prosecutors from the Serb community were sworn into office in Kosovo, who would work as part of a unitary Kosovo justice system. He, however, noted that the implementation of agreements made in 2013 and earlier, continue, at best, to be sporadic and variable. "Within the framework of the European Union (EU)-facilitated dialogue, technical implementation needs more meaningful commitment from both sides, said the UN envoy, noting that the most obvious gap is the lack of progress towards the implementation of the agreed Community/Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Regarding Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the UNMIK said that Pristina representatives attend all CEFTA meetings, and that UNMIKs participation is limited to the requirements of the legal statutes. This participation continues strictly to the extent required by CEFTA members to ensure its functionality, which in turn supports economic opportunity throughout the region, he said, noting the importance of economic and employment opportunities as well as addressing corruption, ensuring public accountability at all levels and combatting organized criminality. The final objective of [UNMIK] remains clear, with your support: sustained peace, and the opportunities it brings for individuals to fulfil their aspirations and their potential, concluded Tanin. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe Source: www.justearthnews.com Riyadh, Nov 15 (IBNS): Israel is all praise for Saudi Arabian Grand Mufti after the latter called Hamas a terrorist organisation, reports said. Appearing on a television programme, Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said that Hamas, a Palestine-based Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organisation, is wrong in fighting against Israel. Following the Grand Mufti's reaction, Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara wrote on his official Twitter account, "We congratulate Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, as well as the head of Ulema for his fatwa forbidding the fight against the Jews and forbidding to kill them." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too has claimed on Sunday that his country holds Hamas responsible for all attacks launched against them from the Gaza strip. "We hold Hamas responsible for any attack against us launched or organized from the Gaza Strip," Netanyahu said. He also warned those against attacking Israel and said any attack would be dealt with harshly. Hamas in the past has been accused of carrying out attacks against Israel. Meanwhile, two weeks ago, the Israeli government blew up an Islamic Jihad attack tunnel that had been dug into its territory at the southern border, Jerusalem Post reported. Issuing a warning on Saturday, Maj.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai of Israel, who coordinates government activities in the territories, said, "We are aware of what the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza is plotting against Israel. It is playing with fire at the expense of the citizens of Gaza, the Palestinian reconciliation [between Fatah and Hamas] and of the region as a whole." Responding to his threat, the Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization, said that it was a 'declaration of war'. "We have the right to respond to any aggression, including the bombing of the tunnel," the organisation said. The inflammatory comments by police authorities ahead of on Wednesday's protests are deeply alarming, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said in a news release. I call on the Government and security forces to work to defuse tensions instead of creating the conditions for suppression, confrontation and violence, he added. Upon publication of the electoral calendar on 5 November, which states that general elections will take place in December 2018 two years later than originally scheduled civil society organisations called for nationwide protests to be held on Wednesday. In response, a number of alarming comments were reportedly made by provincial police inspectors in Goma and Kinshasa. Yesterday, the Police Nationale Congolaise (PNC) provincial inspector in Kinshasa warned that any gathering of more than five people would be dispersed mercilessly, upon the Governor's orders. Even before the announcement of the electoral calendar, between 22 and 23 October, at least 65 opposition political activists were arrested in Lubumbashi, in the country's southeast. All those arrested were later released, some on bail, but these arrests were part of a worrying pattern of actions to prevent political opponents from gathering. Zeid called for top political leaders to ensure respect for the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association and the freedom of expression. He also urged all sides to exercise restraint and to renounce the use of violence. The UN's Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials contains very strict guidelines on the use of force, including that intentional lethal use of firearms may only be made when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. In September last year, 54 people died after defence and security forces used excessive force against demonstrators who were calling for constitutional deadlines to be respected and for President Joseph Kabila to step down at the end of his second mandate. UN Photo/Pierre Albouy Source: www.justearthnews.com Our duty to each other and to future generations is to raise ambition, said Guterres at the opening of the high-level segment of COP23, which was also attended by Heads of State and Government, including President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarana, who is also the President of COP23. We need to do more on five ambition action areas: emissions, adaptation, finance, partnerships and leadership, the Secretary-General added. The Bonn Conference, which opened on 6 November 2017, is taking place one year after the entry into force of the Paris Climate Agreement. The Agreement, which was adopted by the 196 Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015, calls on countries to combat climate change by limiting the rise of global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius and strive not to exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius. On Wednesday, 170 Parties have ratified the treaty. Photo: Video screen capture Source: www.justearthnews.com Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations made this assessment Tuesday as he addressed a packed Working Meeting for Member States, on the sidelines of the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial Conference, which is taking place from 14-15 November, in the Canadian coastal city of Vancouver. Top military personnel and leading defence ministers together with organizations and groups from more than 80 countries involved in peacekeeping have joined UN officials to discuss the increasing challenges faced in the field, and how to address crucial funding gaps in equipment and expertise. Of the 170 peacekeepers killed while serving in UN missions since the beginning of 2013 up to the end of September this year, 86 were with MINUSMA. A June 2015 Peace Agreement was signed between the Government and various armed groups which it was hoped would bring a lasting ceasefire to the country, whose northern region was over-run by militant extremists in 2012. Lacroix told the meeting of mostly uniformed men and women, looking out onto Vancouvers picturesque waterfront, that there were key gaps in equipment such as helicopters and robust armed personnel carriers. He appealed for other troop contributing countries (TCCs) to come forward to help staff one the UNs most dangerous peacekeeping missions. We need to do more in terms of training, how the force is organized, and modalities of how we protect ourselves and better-protect the population as well, against the threats they are facing, said the Under-Secretary-General. UN Field Support chief Atul Khare told the meeting that while challenges remained, MINUSMA has made significant achievements in terms of protection and training, and was fulfilling its mandate. MINUSMA Force Commander, Major General Jean-Paul Deconinck of Belgium, gave the meeting a frank assessment of the operational difficulties and deficiencies that he faced with deploying blue helmets and equipment, but in an interview with UN News after the 90-minute session, he said he was confident but realistic and if given the tools he needs, the mission will succeed. Overcoming the threats of continuing extremist violence against civilians was not only about MINUSMA he stressed, but about durable partnerships with the Malian army and international missions deployed in and around Mali, such as the regional counter-terrorism force knows as the G5 Sahel, which comprises Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Mauritania, along with Mali. The full plenary meeting of the UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial takes place Wednesday afternoon, with sessions on smart pledges and pledge announcements; innovation in training and capacity building; protection; early warning and rapid deployment; and the Women, Peace and Security Chiefs of Defence Network. UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti Source: www.justearthnews.com Manila, Nov 15 (IBNS): Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has lashed out at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the latter's drug-war comments, media reports said. Trudeau, who was present at a summit of southeast Asian countries, said Philippines need a rule of law and expressed his wish on behalf of his federal government to help Philippines. The Canadian PM said Duterte has been receptive to comments regarding his government's crackdown on drug dealers that had claimed several lives. But Trudeau's comment was not well accepted by Duterte. Reacting to Trudeau's comment, Duterte said: "I said, I will not explain. It is a personal and official insult." "It angers me when you are a foreigner, you do not know what exactly is happening in this country. You dont even investigate.," the Philippines President added. Duterte had earlier also reacted in a similar manner when then US President Barack Obama expressed concern over anti-drug campaign. Duterte called Obama "son of a bitch". Trudeau, who is present in ASEAN Summit presently, has pitched the country in the ASEAN Summit with an aim to open the door to Canada for its exclusive circle. While giving the speech, Trudeau said: "Canada is not only willing, but ready to be a key partner for the next 50 years." "This would allow Canada to become a full and dynamic partner of ASEAN" the PM said. Trudeau became the first Canadian Prime Minister to get engaged in an hour-long discussion at the ASEAN Summit. In the summit, Trudeau tried to uplift Canada's profile and convince the international leaders that the country is ready to tackle challenges. The country is looking to get a seat at the United Nations Security Council, reports said. Later, the PM was asked about the reason for which he is trying to extend his country in the Asia-Pacific region. Replying to the question, the PM said: "Canada is a Pacific country, as you well know, and being able to engage on broader issues of security, of development, of human rights, of economic opportunity broader than just the APEC group is very much in line with how Canada wants to and should engage constructively with the region and, indeed, with the world." "Canada is deeply committed to multilateral institutions and fora, and the East Asia Summit is an important one in an extremely compelling and growing region of the world," the PM added. Days ago, Trudeau had said his government is in no hurry to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal at the time other countries are looking forward to seal the deal. Trudeau said this at the APEC summit in Vietnam this week. Trudeau in a press conference said: "Let me remind everyone Canada will not be rushed into a deal that is not in the best interest of Canada and Canadians. I have always been very clear that I will stand up for Canadian jobs, for Canadian values, that's exactly what we will do here." According to CBC News, Canada is pushing to include chapters like environment, labour rights and gender equality in the revised TPP deal. About Canada's working on the revised deal, the Canadian PM had earlier said: "Our ministers are very much engaged and working hard on this issue of TPP11." The Prime Minister at the ASEAN Summit even reacted to the Rohingya crisis. He has highlighted the steps taken by the federal government in Canada to tackle the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. He said Bob Rae, who has been appointed by the Liberal government in Canada as a special envoy to Myanmar, will find out ways by which Canada can help to solve the refugee crisis. Images: facebook.com/rodyduterte, twitter.com/JustinTrudeau (Reporting by Suman Das) Ottawa, Nov 15 (IBNS): Former OPP commissioner MP and federal Conservative cabinet minister Julian Fantino, who had once greatly opposed the legalisation of the pot, has launched a weed-related business, media reports said. Fantino launched the business along with former RCMP deputy commissioner Raf Souccar. Both the former officers had earlier opposed the pot legalisation, which is going to take place six months from now. Fantino had even said once that the legalisation of the pot is equivalent to make murdering legal. Souccar, however, said his and Fantino's minds have changed as they were "persuaded by the science and by real life stories". The name of the clinic, which has been launched by the two men, is Aleafia Total Health Network. Fantino told media: "The purpose of the clinic is to do the assessments." "We're not in the marijuana business. We're a health delivery system" he added. As the sale of recreational marijuana getting legalised by next July, several strict restrictions will be imposed on it. In April, keeping the campaign promise, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau legalised the use of recreational marijuana. As per the new rules, a person of 18 years of age or above will be allowed only 30 grams of cannabis to possess or share with other adults. Staffs selling marijuana in the stores will require special training. Apart from legalising, the federal government has also decided to make an age of majority to use recreational marijuana and also to decide on the retail network of stores where the marijuana could be sold. However, youth in possession of cannabis will not be criminalised from henceforth. But any car driver or passenger will not be allowed to consume cannabis. On the other hand, IBNS has received a mixed reaction towards the legalisation of the cannabis in Canada. Police chiefs across the country are divided over the legalisation of the cannabis. Some advocacy groups are even debating over the matter. IBNS learnt that some of the advocacy groups even opine that the legalisation, perhaps, is too early for the country. (Reporting by Suman Das) Image: Creative Commons The Republican campaign to authorize energy development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is moving forward in Congress. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Wednesday approved legislation to open up the so-called 1002 Area of the refuge to drilling. Though every Democrat and Independent except one opposed the effort, the leader of the panel praised the final vote as bipartisan. Opening a small part of the non-wilderness 1002 Area for responsible energy development will create thousands of good jobs, keep energy affordable for families and businesses, ensure a steady long-term supply of American energy, generate new wealth, reduce the federal deficit, and strengthen our national security, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the chairman of the committee, said in statement after a business meeting Alaska Natives who live and work in ANWR stand to gain from development. Even though they own the surface and subsurface rights to land there, they aren't allowed to exploit their own resources because of restrictions imposed on them by the federal government's designation of the refuge. A clear majority of the people of the North Slope support responsible development in ANWR; they should have the same rights to economic self-determination as people in the rest of the United States," Rex Rock, the president and chief executive officer of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation , an Alaska Native regional corporation, said following the vote. "I call on Congress to recognize that Native Alaskans are the best stewards of our lands and open up 1002. A map of Alaska North's Slope shows the "1002 Area" of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge where oil development could occur. Native owned lands are shaded orange. Image: U.S. Geological Survey ASRC owns the subsurface rights to land within the 1002 area while Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation , a village corporation, owns the surface rights. Development means jobs and revenues for the Inupiat people , who have called the North Slope home for tens of thousands of years. The Gwichin people , on the other hand, remain adamantly opposed to development. Their way of life revolves heavily around a caribou herd that migrates through ANWR. Oil drilling in the Arctic refuge is a direct attack on the Gwichin Nation and our way of life, Bernadette Demientieff, the executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee , which represents Gwichin communities in the United States and Canada, said earlier this month as the debate began The 1002 legislation still hurdles to clear before it becomes law. But Republicans are tying the package to H.Con.Res.71 , a budget resolution, in hopes of making it easier to pass with just a majority of votes in the Senate , they hold 52 seats, compared to 48 for Democrats and Independents. In the past, some members of the GOP notably Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), a former two-term chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs have jumped ship when development required a higher threshold of 60 votes. A pro-development vote in the House , where Republicans hold a stronger majority, is not seen as a major obstacle. "We're serious about American #EnergyDominance," Zinke wrote in an October 25 post on Twitter. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Notice: Business Meeting to consider Reconciliation Legislation (November 15, 2017) Join the Conversation Related Stories One of the artworks that Oslo municipality tried to have registered as a trade mark: The Angry Boy (Sinnataggen) The decision followed a request for an advisory opinion from the Board of Appeal of t he Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO), and required consideration of whether and to what extent signs representing artworks by Gustav Vigeland and in which copyright protection has lapsed could be registered as trade marks under the previous EU Trade Mark Directive, ie Directive 2008/95 [EFTA countries are not part of the EU but are subject to EU legislation, being part of the European Economic Area] The first round: NIPO application The NIPO Examiner had partly rejected the applications filed by the Oslo municipality to register six signs as Norwegian trade marks , on grounds that the signs at issue would be devoid of distinctive character, be descriptive or be shapes that add substantial value to the goods The appeal and the EFTA Courts judgment The decision was appealed before the NIPO Board of Appeal, which - in addition to the grounds considered by NIPO wondered whether registration should be also refused on grounds of public policy and morality (Article 3(1)(f) of the Trade Mark Directive) . More specifically, the Board of Appeal was unsure whether trade mark registration of public domain works might, under certain circumstances (notably when the artwork in question is well-known and has significant cultural value), be against public policy or accepted principles of morality. The NIPO Board of Appeal decided therefore to seek guidance from the EFTA Court, which in turn provided a detailed judgment addressing the registrability of shape marks and the notions of public policy and morality. The case returns to the NIPO Board of Appeal As already discussed here , earlier this week the NIPO Board of Appeal issued its decision regarding the registrability of the signs applied for, and rejected the Oslo municipalitys applications. The Board of Appeal applied the principles expressed in the EFTA Courts judgment, and held that the signs at issue could not be registered on grounds that registration would be contrary to public order. Gustav Vigeland According to the official translation of the decision, The trade marks in question consist either of depictions of sculptures and wrought iron [possibly a bit longer than that ] of Gustav Vigeland (the figure marks) or the sculptures themselves (the three-dimensional marks). In other words, the case concerns works of art which reverted to the public domain on 1st January 2014. According to the approach taken by the EFTA Court, copyright protection is an exception to the rule that intellectual property, as a matter of principle, belongs to the public domain once communicated (paragraph 66). Consequently, creative content reverts to the public domain with the lapse of copyright protection. The public must therefore have the ability to freely use the works, as the considerations justifying limitations to this freedom no longer apply. works which have undoubtedly been protected by copyright until the deathof Gustav Vigeland (the figure marks) or the sculptures themselves (the three-dimensional marks). In other words, the case concerns works of art which reverted to the public domain on 1st January 2014. According to the approach taken by the EFTA Court, copyright protection is an exception to the rule that intellectual property, as a matter of principle, belongs to the public domain once communicated (paragraph 66). Consequently, creative content reverts to the public domain with the lapse of copyright protection. The public must therefore have the ability to freely use the works, as the considerations justifying limitations to this freedom no longer apply. This position might sound harsh if considered in isolation, And in fact the Board added that it is not excluded that a sign depicting a work in which copyright protection has expired may be eligible for trade mark registration. Nonetheless in cases like the one at issue it is necessary to consider whether trade mark registration of signs representing artworks that are now in the public domain would conflict with the rationale underlying limited duration of copyright. This might be so no irrespective of whether the requirements for trade mark registration, including that the sign at issue is sufficiently distinctive, are met. The Board considered that the present case would be extraordinary. Nonetheless two considerations in particular would rule out the possibility to grant the Oslo municipalitys applications. The indiatimes.com privacy policy has been updated to align with the new data regulations in European Union. Please review and accept these changes below to continue using the website. We use cookies to ensure the best experience for you on our website. A couple from Savarkundla town in Gujarat's Amreli has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his permission for euthanasia for their son, who is suffering from an acute neurological disorder. toi Diamond polisher Dinesh Maisurya says his 12-year-old son is getting seizures every 10 minutes and gradually moving towards severe disability, a daily pain for the parents to see their son in that state. Parth suffers from subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a rare neurological disorder, which causes spasms or jerks and the patient loses control over the movement. This viral disease often present in dementia or personality alterations and the patient's behaviour turns abnormal and erratic. "Nothing can be more painful for parents to see their child dying a slow death every day. It's unbearable to see his condition and it is two years now," said Maisurya, who has written to the PM seeking euthanasia nod. toi Earlier, the PM had intervened in his case and Parth was taken to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi for treatment. But there was no improvement. He is now under treatment of Ahmedabad Civil Hospital's doctors, who are treating the child as per the instructions of AIIMS doctors. After doctors told him that SSPE is incurable, Maisurya wanted to "dedicate" his son to medical experiments. "I don't want other children of the same disease to meet the same fate. I want to dedicate my child to doctors' research so that they can develop medicine for SSP. "If that's not possible, I seek euthanasia for him," he wrote in the letter. toi As the disease progresses towards stage 2, the intensity of the spasms and the mental deterioration increases. The spasms can affect the ability to walk, speech impairment, inability to comprehend and difficulty in swallowing. "Parth is surviving on liquids only. He can't have food, he can't walk and suffers seizures 8 to 10 times in a minute which continues the whole day. This is his condition for the last 15 months. We can't see his suffering any more," said Maisurya, who has spent all his hard-earned money on the treatment. Zimbabwes military seized power early on Wednesday saying it was targeting criminals around President Robert Mugabe, the only ruler the country has known in its 37 years of independence. reuters Soldiers seized the state broadcaster. Armoured vehicles blocked roads to the main government offices, parliament and the courts in central Harare, while taxis ferried commuters to work nearby. The atmosphere in the capital remained calm. The military said Mugabe and his family were safe. Mugabe himself spoke by telephone to the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, and told him he was confined to his home but fine, the South African presidency said in a statement. reuters It was not clear whether the apparent military coup would bring a formal end to Mugabes rule; the main goal of the generals appears to be preventing Mugabes 52-year-old wife Grace from succeeding him. But whether or not he remains in office, it is likely to mark the end of the total dominance of the country by Mugabe, the last of Africas generation of state founders still in power. Mugabe, still seen by many Africans as an anti-colonial hero, is reviled in the West as a despot whose disastrous handling of the economy and willingness to resort to violence to maintain power destroyed one of Africas most promising states. reuters He plunged Zimbabwe into a fresh political crisis last week by firing his vice president and presumed successor. The generals believed that move was aimed at clearing a path for Grace Mugabe to take over and announced on Monday they were prepared to step in if purges of their allies did not end. We are only targeting criminals around him (Mugabe) who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice, Major General SB Moyo, Chief of Staff Logistics, said on television. As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy. Careening Off A Cliff Whatever the final outcome, the events could signal a once-in-a-generation change for the southern African nation, once one of the continents most prosperous, reduced to poverty by an economic crisis Mugabes opponents have long blamed on him. reuters Even many of Mugabes most loyal supporters over the decades had come to oppose the rise of his wife, who courted the powerful youth wing of the ruling party but alienated the military, led by Mugabes former guerrilla comrades from the 1970s independence struggle. This is a correction of a state that was careening off the cliff, Chris Mutsvangwa, the leader of the liberation war veterans, told Reuters. Its the end of a very painful and sad chapter in the history of a young nation, in which a dictator, as he became old, surrendered his court to a gang of thieves around his wife. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change called for a peaceful return to constitutional democracy, adding it hoped the military intervention would lead to the establishment of a stable, democratic and progressive nation state. reuters Zuma - speaking on behalf of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - expressed hope there would be no unconstitutional changes of government in Zimbabwe as that would be contrary to both SADC and African Union positions. Zuma urged Zimbabwes government and the military to resolve the political impasse amicably. Economic Decline Zimbabwes economic decline over the past two decades has been a drag on the southern African region. Millions of economic refugees have streamed out of the country, mostly to neighbouring South Africa. reuters Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo, a leading member of the ruling ZANU-PF partys G40 faction, led by Grace Mugabe, had been detained by the military, a government source said. Soldiers deployed across Harare on Tuesday and seized the state broadcaster after ZANU-PF accused the head of the military of treason, prompting speculation of a coup. Just 24 hours after military chief General Constantino Chiwenga threatened to intervene to end a purge of his allies in ZANU-PF, a Reuters reporter saw armoured personnel carriers on main roads around the capital. Aggressive soldiers told passing cars to keep moving through the darkness. Dont try anything funny. Just go, one barked at Reuters on Harare Drive. reuters Two hours later, soldiers overran the headquarters of the ZBC, the state broadcaster, a Mugabe mouthpiece, and ordered staff to leave. Several ZBC workers were manhandled, two members of staff and a human rights activist said. Shortly afterwards, three explosions rocked the centre of the capital, Reuters witnesses said. India seems to be aggressively marketing its supersonic cruise missile BrahMos at the Dubai Airshow and is in talks with countries in the Middle East region. BCCL In the sprawl of pavilions boasting of cutting edge aviation and defence technology at the Dubai Airshow, a stall with scale models of Sukhoi Su-30 MKI planes, ships, submarines and missiles catch the attention of people who walk by though it's in a corner. Two officers from BrahMos Aerospace explain the qualities of the missile to inquisitive visitors who are mostly those from arms companies and defence force of different countries. "This is the only supersonic missile on display. It's faster than the subsonic missiles from other countries that are on display. It superseded most popular subsonic missiles", said BrahMos Aerospace general manager market promotion and export Praveen Pathak. The product is being promoted under the 'Make In India' programme. "We have taken part in air shows and expos abroad but this is the first time in the Middle East. We want to export the missile and is in talks with a few countries. Discussions are also happening on the sidelines of the airshow," he said. BCCL According to him, the cruise missile is better in velocity, flight range, and seeker range by three times and nine times by kill energy when compared to popular subsonic missiles in the world. He said, "We are promoting all versions - sea to sea, sea to land, land to sea, land to land and those capable of being launched from canisters and ships. The missile has been inducted into the Indian Navy and has capability for vertical launch from ships." The capability of using the missile from a submarine is also on display. A small scale model of a submarine installed at the stall shows that around eight missiles can be launched vertically from undersea. AFP The air version of the missile will be inducted into the Indian Air Force on its SU-30 MKI fighter planes after trials are completed. The combination of BrahMos missile with a range of 300km and SU-30 MKI fighter planes is considered to be deadly as the plane can fly long range and deploy the missile 300km away from a target and return safely. BrahMos is the only presence from India at the prestigious air show where more than 160 exhibitors from all over the world have displayed their products and technology for civil aviation and defence. With the Middle East region in a flux due to tension between Saudi and Yemen and Iran, there was a lot of interest among visitors for weapon systems. Fighter jets, drones, surveillance technology and others are popular among visitors belonging to the military. AFP Big names in defence manufacturing like Boeing, Dassault, Raytheon, Rafale are present peddling their weapons, planes and technology in addition to a host of exhibitors from civil aviation sector. Pakistan has a huge two-storey aeronautical stall where scale models of the country's JF-17 Thunder fighter plane is being showcased along with other planes already being supplied to countries in the Middle East. The airshow that began on November 12 will conclude on November 16. Mariah Walton, who is an Analytics Manager at LinkedIn, left a little something for her boss - the CEO of LinkedIn Jeff Weiner - when he flew in to meet the employees at the company's Dublin office. Since Walton was away on vacation, she was going to miss Weiner's special visit. So, she decided to leave behind a note at her workstation, along with a photo of herself at the desktop, apologising for missing the opportunity to meet him. Also read: No Place For Hate: Tech CEOs Satya Nadella, Mark Zuckerberg, Tim Cook Support Diversity & Unity Mariah Walton/LinkedIn Weiner went a step ahead and clicked a selfie while posing at Walton's desk. He left behind the photo with a note for her to find when she returned. Walton posted Weiner's photo five days ago and the post went viral with 33,000. People were left pleasantly pleased and praised Weiner for his leadership skills and actually seeing his employees as "human beings" who are allowed to have a life beyond work. Mariah Walton/Linkedin Also read: Tech Firms With Indian CEOs, Founders Are Creating Record Number Of Jobs For Americans In US On Walton's LinkedIn post, Weiner himself replied, "Mariah, sorry I missed you this trip to Dublin. Keep up the great work on the international dashboard. Has been a game changer for the product team." BEST. BOSS. EVER. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says hes going to give $50 million to help fight Alzheimers disease, so people can enjoy the long lives they have thanks to modern medicine. Gates said on Monday that hes making a personal donation to the Dementia Discovery Fund, because its not likely the first few rounds of research will receive tangible outcomes. He says that when a more stable treatment is developed, the Gates foundation will then make contributions to help expand access to the treatment around the world. In a post on his personal blog, Gates talked about his familys personal struggle with the disease, with multiple male relatives having had their twilight years robbed of them by the medical condition. My family history isnt the sole reason behind my interest in Alzheimers, he wrote. But my personal experience has exposed me to how hopeless it feels when you or a loved one gets the disease. Weve seen scientific innovation turn once-guaranteed killers like HIV into chronic illnesses that can be held in check with medication. I believe we can do the same (or better) with Alzheimers. He also mentions that he first became interested in Alzheimers because of how much caring for these patients costs. He points out that a person with Alzheimers or another form of dementia spends five times more every year on healthcare than a senior citizen with a neurodegenerative condition. It costs money to both treat sufferers as well as care for them for decades after. This is a frontier where we can dramatically improve human life, Gates says. Its a miracle that people are living so much longer, but longer life expectancies alone are not enough. People should be able to enjoy their later yearsand we need a breakthrough in Alzheimers to fulfill that. Im excited to join the fight and cant wait to see what happens next. Boston Dynamics, a robot maker thats been in the spotlight for the past few years, has just published a video to YouTube, capturing its latest and most advanced robot in action. And to be honest, were not sure whether to be impressed or horrified at how realistic it is. Boston Dynamics Called the SpotMini robot, the mechanical creature was first unveiled by the company in June 2016. Boston Dynamics was owned by Alphabet at the time, before eventually being sold to Japan-based telecom/tech giant SoftBank. The SpotMini originally started out as a household robot looking more like deer than its current dog form. At the time, not only was it terrible at performing said chores, it was also prone to slipping on banana peels. The new version has none of those issues. First off, it has a makeover to give it a much more polished look. The tall neck is gone, making it now resemble a weird metal dog hybrid. It even moves like a real dog too, as it trots around on four paws, albeit in a very showboating manner. However, its that range and fluidity of movement that perfectly demonstrate just how much progress Boston Dynamics has made in the field, building animal-inspired robots that can be used in real-life situations. The video says the SpotMini is coming soon, but its not yet clear whether that means the bot is just going to get an official reveal as a technological marvel, or is actually going up for sale as a commercial product. Either way, consider us both excited and incredibly creeped out. DSM invests in Inner Mongolia hydrocolloids company DSM and investment company Haixing have acquired a majority equity stake in Inner Mongolia Rainbow Biotechnology, which has been renamed DSM Rainbow (Inner Mongolia) Biotechnology (DRB). DSM and investment company Haixing have acquired a majority equity stake in Inner Mongolia Rainbow Biotechnology, which has been renamed DSM Rainbow (Inner Mongolia) Biotechnology (DRB). Through this acquisition, DSM and Haixing say they will be able to expand their global business of hydrocolloid solutions applied in food, beverage and personal care products to provide texture and stability. The companies plan to meet the growing demand for gellan gum and widen their hydrocolloid product portfolio with the addition of xanthan gum and welan gum After an injection of new capital, DSM will own 65% of the shares in Rainbow and Haixing 27%. The remainder will be owned by Gu Li Quan, the founder of the company. DSM and Haixing already have a 60%/40% joint venture in gellan gum, DSM Zhongken Biotechnology (DZK), in Tongxiang, Zhejiang province. This is an important strategic investment, which expands both our manufacturing capacity and innovation competences, enabling us to deliver on our strategy to become a leading and fast-growing global natural hydrocolloids produce, said Weiming Jiang, DSM China President. DSM Rainbow is uniquely positioned to be a leading producer of high-quality gums, offering sustainable products, which are in high demand by our customers, both in China and throughout the world. DSM Rainbow is located along the China-Mongolia-Russia Corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative, a strategic location for our hydrocolloids business, planted firmly in China with a global impact. Globally, increasing consumer awareness around healthy eating and demand for low-calorie and low-fat food products, coupled with further technological development in the food industry, is expected to have a notable impact on the natural hydrocolloid market growth, said Xiangwei Gong, President of DSM Hydrocolloids. By acquiring Rainbow, we will be even better positioned to deliver unique, high-value solutions to our food, beverage and personal care customers worldwide. DRB will work closely with DZK where DSM has also built a world-class innovation center. The site will be temporarily shut down for upgrades. In the coming years, DRB will make significant further investments in the site to increase capacity and strengthen its ability to deliver a secure and sustainable supply of biogums. Since we started the partnership with DSM in 2010, DZK has been expanded and developed based on the global platform of DSM, said Rongming Wu, Chairman of Haixing. I am very excited to have Rainbow, a relatively new and attractive player in the industry, joining our dream team. I sincerely hope and believe that we will work together to achieve the goal of building a world-class biogums manufacturing base in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. Livestock Report Walsh Trading - 12 minutes ago Hogs listless Cocoa Prices Remain Underpinned by Supply Concerns Barchart - 19 minutes ago December ICE NY cocoa (CCZ22 ) on Wednesday closed up +3 (+0.12%), and December ICE London cocoa #7 (CAZ22 ) closed up +10 (+0.50%). Cocoa prices Wednesday closed slightly higher. Cocoa has rallied sharply... CCH23 : 2,502s (+0.16%) CAH23 : 1,955s (+0.10%) Sugar Prices Give Up Early Gains as Crude Falls Barchart - 21 minutes ago March NY world sugar #11 (SBH23 ) on Wednesday closed down -0.02 (-0.10%), and March London white sugar #5 (SWH23 ) closed down -6.70 (-1.22%). Sugar prices Wednesday erased an early rally and closed slightly... SBH23 : 20.27s (-0.10%) SWH23 : 544.60s (-1.22%) Coffee Prices Close Moderately Lower on Abundant Supplies Barchart - 23 minutes ago December arabica coffee (KCZ22 ) on Wednesday closed down -1.30 (-0.83%), and Jan ICE Robusta coffee (RMF23 ) closed down -10 (-0.55%). Coffee prices Wednesday posted moderate losses, with robusta falling... KCH23 : 158.40s (-0.69%) RMF23 : 1,792s (-0.55%) House panel to hold hearing on crypto exchange FTX collapse AP - 43 minutes ago Lawmakers plan to investigate the failure of FTX, the large crypto exchange that collapsed last week and filed for bankruptcy protection, leaving investors and customers staring at losses that could total... $SPX : 3,964.18 (-0.69%) $DOWI : 33,543.78 (-0.15%) $IUXX : 11,714.70 (-1.32%) Poland, NATO say missile strike wasn't a Russian attack AP - 1 hour ago NATO's chief and the president of Poland say there are no indications that a missile that fell on Polish farmland and killed two people was a deliberate attack $SPX : 3,964.18 (-0.69%) $DOWI : 33,543.78 (-0.15%) $IUXX : 11,714.70 (-1.32%) UK inflation accelerates to 41-year high of 11.1% AP - Wed Nov 16, 12:18PM CST Britains inflation rate rose to a 41-year high in October, fueling demands for the government to do more to ease the nations cost-of-living crisis when it releases new tax and spending plans Thursday... $SPX : 3,964.18 (-0.69%) $DOWI : 33,543.78 (-0.15%) $IUXX : 11,714.70 (-1.32%) Maine officials say theyre notifying some 2,100 people of an incident that might have caused their personal information to be temporarily exposed. The Maine Office of Information Technology says the potential breach happened on Sept. 21 as part of a system upgrade. The office says a contractor posted information from a Maine Department of Health and Human Services child welfare database to a third-party website not within the state system. The office says the file included names, addresses and Social Security numbers of people who receive foster care benefits. It also had names of children and legal guardians of people in the program. Chief Information Officer Jim Smith says the information was removed from the site. The office is offering a year of credit and identity monitoring to affected people. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Maine Trumbull, CT, November 15, 2017 TMC, a global, integrated media company helping clients build communities in print, in person and online, announced today the winners of the 2017 Data Center Excellence Award, presented by infoTECH Spotlight. The 2017 infoTECH Spotlight Data Center Excellence Award recognizes the most innovative and enterprising data center vendors who offer infrastructure or software, servers or cooling systems, cabling or management applications. photo courtesy of BigStock Congratulations to the winners of the InfoTech Spotlight 2017 Data Center Excellence Award, said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC (News - Alert). Data centers are critical to the success of any businesses today. Small or large, every business relies on data centers to host their applications and data, either on their own premises or in the cloud. The award recipients are innovators within this space and we look forward to seeing their continued excellence and innovation. 2017 Data Center Excellence Award Winners For more than 20 years, TMC has been honoring technology companies with awards in various categories. These awards are regarded as some of the most prestigious and respected honors in the communications and technology sector worldwide. Winners represent prominent players in the market who consistently demonstrate the advancement of technologies. Each recipient is a verifiable leader in the marketplace. About InfoTech Spotlight InfoTech Spotlight brings extensive daily content focused on information technology. Visitors will find free industry news, communities, channels, blogs, feature articles, videos, whitepapers and other resources. The site keeps readers informed about developments across topics including software, hardware, security and networking. InfoTech Spotlight is powered by TMCnet, the leading communications and technology site in the World. Please visit: infoTECH Spotlight for more information. About TMC Global buyers rely on TMCs content-driven marketplaces to make purchase decisions and navigate markets. This presents branding, thought leadership and lead generation opportunities for vendors/sellers. TMCs Marketplaces: Unique, turnkey Online Communities boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. boost search results, establish market validation, elevate brands and thought leadership, while minimizing ad-blocking. Custom Lead Programs uncover sales opportunities and build databases. uncover sales opportunities and build databases. In-Person and Online Events boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. and boost brands, enhance thought leadership and generate leads. 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TMC Contact Stephanie Thompson 203-852-6800, ext. 139 [email protected] Edited by Mandi Nowitz Britains National Cyber Security Centre publicly confirmed for the first time that Russia has carried out internet assaults on major U.K. energy, technology and media companies, as tensions escalate over the Kremlins interference in Western democracies. NCSC Chief Executive Officer Ciaran Martin said his organization, which is part of GCHQ, the U.K.s communications interception agency, has dealt with more than 600 cyber attacks since it was created last year. Of those, 35 were designated significant incidents, in which the threat to Britain was deemed severe enough for government ministers and spy agencies full resources to be used. I cant get into precise details of intelligence matters, but I can confirm that Russian interference seen by the National Cyber Security Centre over the past year has included attacks on the U.K. media, telecommunications and energy sectors, Martin said in a speech in London Wednesday. Russia is seeking to undermine the international system. That much is clear. Prime Minister Theresa May warned Monday the Kremlin is behind a sustained campaign of cyber espionage and disruption. We know what you are doing, May said in a speech, addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin and insisting he would not succeed. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Tuesday Mays comments were irresponsible and groundless and argued she was trying to distract attention from internal government splits over Brexit. At the start of November, Britains Electoral Commission announced an investigation into Arron Banks, a millionaire insurance entrepreneur who funded campaigns in the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union. The move followed calls by lawmakers for a probe into whether dark money played a role in the vote. Foreign governments such as Russia and China may have been responsible for a crash in the voter registration website in the weeks before the referendum, according to a parliamentary committee. The Times of London newspaper said Wednesday Russian Twitter accounts posted almost 45,000 messages about Brexit in 48 hours during the referendum campaign in an apparently coordinated attempt to affect the outcome of the vote, citing research for an upcoming paper by data scientists at Swansea University in Wales and the University of California, Berkeley. With assistance from Gregory L. White and Henry Meyer Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Cyber Russia Europe Uk Economical Insurance in Ontario has named Paul MacDonald as executive vice president of Personal Insurance effective early 2018. Rowan Saunders, president and CEO of Economical, said MacDonald will have profit and loss accountability for broker-distributed personal insurance and support a renewed focus in personal lines across distribution channels. He will work Tom Reikman, chief distribution officer, and Fabian Richenberger, EVP, Commercial Insurance. Prior to joining Economical, MacDonald was senior vice president and chief claims officer at RSA Canada. Before RSA, he was vice president, Canadian Operations for SGI CANADA, directing the companys underwriting, broker services, business development, and regional claims operations. His experience also includes insurance consulting with PricewaterhouseCoopers and positions with Aon Risk Services. Topics Canada The Keane Insurance Group in St. Louis, Missouri, has received the ProAssurance 2017 Philanthropic Award. The award was presented to John Keane, president of The Keane Group, and Brian Dames, COO, at ProAssurances 2017 Leadership Circle meeting in North Carolina in recognition of outstanding contributions to the community and profession. The award is in honor of The Keane Groups charitable work in Haiti after the devastating earthquake in 2010. John Keane started the HOPE Community Project shortly after the disaster, and since that time, through fundraising events, donations, and the development of ongoing financial support, Keane has raised over $1,000,000 for the charity. The funds have helped provide housing, clean, filtered water, jobs, school scholarships, and a medical clinic in Gonaives. The foundation is now focusing on economic development and orphan prevention, to help families stay together. The Keane Insurance Group has partnered with ProAssurance for many years to bring medical professional/medical malpractice insurance to physicians and groups all over the country. With more than 4,500 physician, hospital and senior care clients, The Keane Insurance Group is one of the largest independent brokers of medical professional liability insurance in the nation. Licensed in all 50 states, Keane has offices in St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, New York, Austin, and Los Angeles and has been providing risk management solutions to the healthcare industry since 1995. Source: The Keane Insurance Group Topics Missouri Medical Professional Liability The insurance industry has a great record of solving problems where government regulation didnt because the government either didnt know how to regulate, or the government wouldnt regulate, Richard A. Clarke, former National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection and Counter-Terrorism for the United States, told attendees at a recent cybersecurity insurance forum in Santa Clara, Calif. Clarke, now CEO of Good Harbor LLC, a security risk management firm that advises companies and governments on cybersecurity and best practices, was the keynote speaker at the recent National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and Stanford Cyber Initiative: Cyber Insurance and Its Evolving Role in Helping to Mitigate Cyber Risks. The first joint forum between the NAIC and Palo Alto, Calif-based Stanford University held last month sought to explore how insurers and cybersecurity experts can better work together to solve cybersecurity challenges facing the nations technology infrastructure. Clarkes experience in the cybersecurity world has spanned decades, including a 30-year career with the U.S. Government. He served under three presidents as a Senior White House Advisor, Special Advisor to the President for Cyber Security, and on the United States National Security Council. I think the cyber insurance industry has enormous potential to positively shape the cybersecurity ecosystem in this country, as it has so many other things in this country as it has with fire prevention, as it has with automobile safety, Clarke said at the NAIC/Stanford forum. Clarke offered several ideas on where he thinks the insurance industry can use its power to improve cybersecurity for companies and organizations alike, as well as grow and improve the overall cybersecurity insurance market. 1) Know Your Insureds IT Budgets Clarke said what differentiates the security of a companys technology infrastructure is what they spend on their IT budget. If you look at the percentage of their IT budget that they spend on security that will tell you a lot, he told the audience of insurance professionals and regulators. The reason for that, Clarke said, is every company has definitional issues about how they look at security and how they allocate their budget to those different areas. Clarke said for companies to truly be effective at combating cybersecurity intrusions they need to employing resources at many different levels, and that costs money. At the gross level, if the company is spending 3 percent, 4 percent, or even 5 percent, of its IT budget on security, its not spending enough, he said. Getting this right is hard. Getting this right is expensive. Clarke said good companies that are highly secure are spending at least 8 to 12 percent of their IT budget on security. If people are unwilling to spend money on IT security, they will get hacked, he said. 2) Cybersecurity Defense is About People Clarke said even if a company is employing all the right hardware and software that it can to fend off technology intrusions, the real difference maker to keeping a company or institution safe is still its people. If you dont have training [for] IT security people, all that hardware and software is not going to do you any good. Youre not going to know how to integrate it and youre not going to know what to do at large, he said. He said there are currently 200,000 vacant IT security jobs across the U.S., and that number doesnt include the people in IT security jobs who arent trained or qualified for them. You would never a let a doctor operate on you who wasnt board-certified in that capacity; youd never let someone do your income taxes who hadnt recently gone through a tax certification program yet we have [people] in companies throughout the United States who do not have the qualifications to do their job, he said. Clarke said part of the reason for that is there isnt a good certification program for people to train in cybersecurity, something he said he is working on. And he thinks insurers should do more to provide adequate training as well. 3) Know How Secure Your Insureds Are Clarke said insurers shouldnt just be examining a policyholders security system when they are filling out the insurance application, but every moment of the day. In other words, he said, insurers should continuously monitor the cybersecurity procedures of their insureds, much the way auto insurers do with driving telematic devices. And, he said, the technology exists for insurance companies to gather this information and keep a security score on their policyholders. If I was an insurance company and I was underwriting a company, I would not underwrite them unless I knew every day how secure they were, he said. 4) Dont Give Up Clarke said in the wake of many high-profile cybersecurity breaches such as Target, Sony, Yahoo, and most recently Equifax, it would be easy to reach the conclusion that all company technology networks cannot be secured. You can get really depressed by that and give up, he said. But he urged people not feel that way, saying there are many companies that are successful at keeping hackers away and keeping peoples personal information safe, they just dont publicize it. The companies that are successful dont like to attract attention. There are companies that have not been hacked; or when they have had the network penetrated, it has not resulted in the loss of data, it has not resulted in the shutting down of operations, he said. Dont look at all the horror stories Theyre not all going to be hacked. Some of them are going to get it right. We need to learn from the ones that arent being hacked. 5) Create a Cybersecurity Insurance Institute Clarke said the insurance industry should develop a place where the phenomenon of cyber incidents and the potential interaction with insurance could be studied. That place could create the data needed for better underwriting, and think of ways of reducing the risks. He said the institute could also certify people working in cybersecurity. A cybersecurity insurance institute joining with other organizations could create a multilevel set of certifications and could help run that program, run the curriculum, run the testing, and run the continuing education, he said. He added such an institute would put the insurance industry on the cutting-edge of the cybersecurity world, and help ensure that insurers are not putting themselves at too great a liability. You dont have to wait for new technology. You dont have to wait for new breakthroughs, and you dont have to wait for someone to pass the ball because they never will, he said. Topics Carriers USA Cyber Tech Market Training Development When Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area two months ago, Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers Compensation employees around the state responded rapidly. DWC increased staffing on the customer service line, created a resources web page, and reminded insurance carriers about their responsibilities to injured employees after a disaster. DWCs Houston field offices saw multiple closures due to power outages and minor water leaks. Erica DeLaCruz, assistant director, Field Operations Management, said field office employees did a tremendous job keeping a positive attitude, and kept their focus on helping injured employees. Several Houston-area staff volunteered at local shelters and donated money and items, DeLaCruz said, even when they and their families suffered damage. Regional managers said many employees had to be evacuated before, during, and after the hurricane. Some stayed in shelters, others with friends and family. Two employees lost their homes, and others had to stay in hotels or RVs. Many DWC employees also helped coordinate relief efforts and organized donation drives. And 10 DWC employees went the extra mileheading straight to the hurricane-stricken areas to help first hand. Melissa Hield, TDIs associate commissioner for Consumer Protection, said TDI coordinated several teams of volunteers63 in allfrom TDI and DWC between August 31 and October 23. DWCs Pat Crawford, a return to work specialist in Health Care Management, made two trips as a volunteer to areas near Pasadena and across the coast in September and October. We provided an absolutely necessary service, Crawford said. People really did not know what to do. Its one of the most satisfying things Ive ever done. Crawford said TDI volunteers went where the people were, passing out customer service information and answering questions. There were 10,000 to 12,000 people in a line for emergency food stamps, she said. It went around the building and down the street. Wed walk up and down the line asking if anyone had insurance questions. The most common questions were what to do if you didnt have insurance, and what to do if your insurance adjuster said the damage wasnt covered. We basically told victims that if they had no insurance, they needed to go to FEMA for help, Crawford said. If they did have insurance, and were denied, we gave them a letter they could take to FEMA to get help. Amy Rich, communications specialist, Health Care Quality Review, also volunteered, spending five days near the coast. You really empathize with the victims, Rich said. Wed see families with crying kids, and wed give them a coloring book so we could help their parents with insurance questions. Rich said the most memorable moments were helping people whose apartments had been destroyed, and who had been told they did not have renters insurance. One nursing student was just barely getting by to begin with, Rich said. Then her rent money ran out and she was evicted. Shed been living out of her car. Its kind of a helpless feeling, but Im thankful we had the whole TDI teamthe rain ombudsman, the consumer protection linesthey were all a huge help. Volunteers did whatever they could to help in the hardest-hit areas, Crawford said. One day I helped pass out water, another day we passed out truckloads of bananas, she said. Everybody was very thankful they thanked us profusely. Crawford said its difficult to imagine the level of devastation. Trash collection was running behind, and there were overflowing dumpsters and empty water bottles everywhere. Piles of debris lined the curbs. Many small businesses were ruined, and a lot of people were out of work as a result, she said. Jennifer Hopens, director of DWCs Appeals Panel Division, also volunteered, as she had done after Hurricane Ike in 2008. After Harvey, she spent time in a number of FEMA disaster recovery centers in the Houston area, and said the residents optimism and compassion were inspirational. We encountered people who had lost much in the wake of the storm, Hopens said, but they maintained a positive outlook on life, hope for the future, and concern for others. Crawford said the 12-hour days were long, but rewarding. And while TDI and DWC volunteer efforts have ended for now, its still early in the clean-up and recovery process for the coast. My advice to anyone thinking of going to help is just go, Crawford said. Do it. Thanks to all of these DWC volunteers: Bobby Gonzalez, Candice Gomez, Kent Wells, Amy Rich, Michael Buggs, Laurie Garnes, Pat Crawford, Marla Brooks, Theol Jackman, and Jennifer Hopens. Source: Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers Compensation Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Texas Workers' Compensation Hurricane Garrett Sprowls, general counsel and managing broker of Austin-based Professional Lines Underwriting Specialists Inc. (PLUS Inc.), has been elected president of the Texas Surplus Lines Association Inc. (TSLA). Other newly elected TSLA officers and directors include: Vice President Matt Leicht, owner/underwriter at Craig & Leicht in Houston Secretary/Treasurer Jennifer Mier, executive vice president with AmWINS Group in Dallas Director Lynn Bordelon with McClelland & Hine Inc. in Dallas Director Jeff Fields with Markel Mid South in Dallas Director Rose Perez with USG Insurance Services Inc. in Houston Director Tiffany Way with All Risks Ltd. in Austin The new officers and directors were elected at TSLAs 62nd Annual Meeting held Nov. 13, 2017, in Austin. At the meeting, the Joe Howse Presidents Award was presented to both Sarah Guzzetta, M.D. Jensvold & Co. Inc., chairperson, Host Committee, and Tiffany Way, chairperson, Advertising Committee, for outstanding work on their respective committees. The Don King Committee Member of the Year award was presented to Jeff Fields, Markel Mid South, for all his hard work on the Social Media Committee. Source: TSLA Topics Texas Excess Surplus Authorities say nine people were taken to a hospital after a tractor-trailer smashed into cars stopped at a red-light on a Georgia parkway. Gainesville police Cpl. Jessica Van told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the big truck failed to stop, triggering a chain-reaction collision involving at least 10 vehicles Monday morning. News outlets reported that police said nine people were sent to the hospital including at least one person with serious injuries. The Queen City Parkway was closed for hours after the crash, which occurred as metro Atlanta was under a dense fog advisory. Gloria Kell told The Gainesville Times she was approaching a red light when her car got struck. She said in her rearview mirror she saw a tractor-trailer going all over the place, running over cars and stuff. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Auto Georgia The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says a spill resulting in an increase of toxic chemical levels in a river hadnt been reported by a chemical company until regulators approached. The StarNews reports state Environmental Quality officials said in a Thursday statement the department will take action against Chemours for the spill, which was identified after Environmental Protection Agency tests showed a GenX spike in the Cape Fear River. When asked about the test, the company told state officials a chemical they identify as a precursor to GenX had spilled Oct. 6 during planned maintenance. State officials didnt specify what enforcement actions theyre considering. Last week, Chemours CEO Mark P. Vergnano said the company didnt have to stop GenX from reaching the drinking water but took action as part of good-faith efforts. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Pollution North Carolina Learn how much you need to retire comfortably, and how to prepare for the "unexpected." Plan for everything from living expenses, to healthcare, to planning that trip you've always wanted to take. Letter from The Editor Our relationship with money has changed. The pandemic accelerated a lot of those changes, but many of the forces were already set in motion over a decade ago. Investing apps and platforms, zero-commission trading, a historic bull market for stocks coming out of the Great Financial Crisis followed by record-breaking inflation, the emergence of cryptocurrencies, and the evolution of financial planning are just some of the forces that have reshaped the way we think, use, plan, save, and invest our money. Our notions about retirement have changed, as well. Younger generations are less likely to work at the same company their entire careers, collect a pension, and ease their way out of the workforce at the age of 65. We are living longer, and we need to be able to afford the lives we want to live when we stop working. For most people, retirement is not their end of work, but the end of being able to depend on a regular paycheck with benefits and a 401(k) match, if we were lucky enough to get one. While over half of working adults in the U.S. are invested in the stock market, the average 401(k) balance for baby boomers and Generation X is only around $161,000 according to Fidelity. With the cost of living rising higher every year, and questions about the staying power of Social Security, the numbers just don't add up for most people nearing retirement. There is no magic bullet solution to these problems. There are, however, some fundamental practices and approaches that younger adults and those approaching retirement, can focus on: Financial awareness: Do you really know what it costs to be you? Investing appropriately for your age: Are you too risky, or not risky enough, or well-balanced? Balanced portfolio: Is the 60/40 portfolio still the answer, given the shake-out in the stock market? Saving and budgeting in a world of rising prices: Inflation is not a bug in the systemit's a feature that we need to accept and incorporate into our personal budgets. Planning and caring for yourself or family members: The cost of care keeps rising, but few are prepared for those bills when they come due. Estate planning: If you can and want to pass along your savings to charity or the next generation, are your affairs in order? Investopedia's special issue on retirement is our first foray into magazine publishing. We are honored to have been a go-to resource for millions of readers for the past 23 years, but we, like you, realize that the game has changed in retirement planning and investing. Therefore, we have dedicated those pages to laying out those changes and offering solutions that can help you change with the times. Pick up your copy at your nearest retailer or buy now online. We hope you enjoy the issue and learn from it. The first step in financial awareness is to educate yourself, so let those pages help you get on the right path. Burma BGB Urges Myanmar Govt to Repatriate Rohingya Refugees as Soon as Possible The press conference of the fourth central level meeting on security and law enforcement of Myanmar and Bangladesh. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy NAYPYITAW The Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) has urged the Myanmar government to repatriate as soon as possible more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees back into Rakhine States Maungdaw at the fourth central level meeting on security and law enforcement of the two countries on Tuesday. The mass exodus of Muslim refugees has caused a burden to Bangladesh, said director-general Abul Hossain of the BGB, urging the Myanmar government to stop the mass immigration of Muslim refugees and begin repatriation efforts quickly. The Myanmar government has, however, voiced doubt as to the figure of 600,000 cited by UN human rights observers and international media. The Myanmar authorities have asked the BGB to recheck the figure and compile an accurate list of refugees, said Police Brig-Gen Aung Htay Myint, the head of the cross-border crime department of the Myanmar Police Force, who participated in the meeting. We have our immigration data to check if refugees lived here. We have an agreement that we will accept them back if they have actually lived here, said police Brig-Gen Aung Htay Myint. Details about the repatriation will be discussed during the upcoming Bangladeshi foreign ministers visit to Myanmar, he said. The Myanmar government has invited Bangladeshi foreign minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali to Myanmar from Nov. 16-18, but the visit has not yet been confirmed. We expect to sign a memorandum of understanding when the Bangladeshi foreign minister comes. We expect to discuss repatriation policies in detail, and well form joint committees to verify and repatriate according to those policies, he added. The BGB director-general lamented that drones and helicopters from Myanmar crossed the border in October, and that Myanmar border guard police detained some Bangladeshi fishermen. The Myanmar government has handed over a list of more than 1,000 suspects who were reportedly involved in the attacks in Maungdaw and fled to Bangladesh, and the Bangladeshi government has handed over four suspects, according to police Brig-Gen Aung Htay Myint. The BGB director-general said that his country had never and would not accept any unlawful organization, insurgents or terrorists on its soil. Myanmar wishes to start the negotiation as soon as possible. The more the negotiation is deferred, the longer delay it will cause in the repatriation process, said U Zaw Htay, director-general of the Presidents Office. The Tuesday meeting discussed bilateral cooperation in border security and law, illegal fishing, smuggling through the border, and establishment of a Border Liaison Office (BLO), according to a joint statement. Present at the meeting were high-ranking officials of the Myanmar Police Force led by Police Brig-Gen Myo Swe Win, members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Labor, Immigration and Population, and high ranking officials of Bangladeshs Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko. Indiana University'sandearned weekly Big Ten swimming and diving honors on Wednesday, the conference office announced.Parratto was named the Big Ten Women's Diver of the Week for the second time this year, while Pieroni was named the Big Ten Men's Swimmer of the Week for the third time this season.Pieroni helped lead the No. 1 Indiana men's swimming and diving squad to victories over No. 13 Notre Dame and Cincinnati last week, winning two individual events. The Valparaiso, Ind. native won the 100 freestyle (43.17) and 200 IM (1:47.07) with NCAA B cut times. He was also a member of the 200 medley relay for the Hoosiers, touching with a time of 1:28.75.Parratto was dominant for the Hoosier women's team in the diving well, helping IU take down Cincinnati. The Dover, N.H. product won the 1-meter with a score of 309.50 and the 3-meter with a total of 348.15. Both scores were NCAA Zones qualifying marks.The No. 1/9 Indiana University men's and women's swimming and diving teams will be back in action on Nov. 16-18 at the Early Bird Invitational, hosted by Purdue University.Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men's and women's swimming and diving teams on social media Twitter Facebook and Instagram #GoIU Burma Court Case Begins Against Naypyitaw Municipal Officials Dr. Khaing Soe Hla, a deputy director general of the veterinary and butchery department of the Naypyitaw municipal council, at court on Tuesday. / Zarni Mann / The Irrawaddy MANDALAY The Mandalay Region Supreme Court began hearing a lawsuit against two officials from the Naypyitaw Council on Tuesday. The municipal officials were arrested and sued under the 2013 Anti-Corruption Law for taking bribes from butchers in October. On Monday, the court heard from plaintiff U Aung Myint Kyaw, a member of the investigation committee from Naypyitaws anti-corruption commission. The accused, Dr. Khaing Soe Hla, a deputy director general from the veterinary and butchery department of the Naypyitaw municipal council, appeared in court. During the court session, U Aung Myint Kyaw told the court that the deputy director general took 5,500,000 kyats from two butchers, as a bribe for permission to reopen their shops, which had been forced to close. We received complaints from the butchers, which they submitted with photos of Dr. Khaing Soe Hla accepting money from them, said U Aung Myint Kyaw, during the court session. We investigated and found out that he accepted the bribe, so, we cooperated with police to arrest him under Article 56 of the Anti-Corruption Law, he added. In a separate case, U Min Lwin Soe, a deputy director general from the market department of the Naypyitaw municipal council, was sued under the same law for taking 3,000,000 kyats as a bribe from the same butchers. The case against U Min Lwin Soe will be heard at the same court on Wednesday. If found guilty, the minimum sentence for the crime is two years imprisonment. Burma Japans Abe Offers $1 Billion in Rural Aid to Myanmars State Counselor Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. / Reuters TOKYO Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday pledge up to 117 billion yen ($1.03 billion) of development aid to Myanmar in a meeting in Manila with government leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The package of low-interest loans will be used to fund projects including infrastructure and small company financing meant to help improve rural incomes, Japans Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a release. The aid pledge comes as Myanmar comes under intense criticism from human rights groups, the United Nations and other countries for a counter-insurgency operation that has sparked an exodus of more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh since August. Abe and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi are in the Philippines for an Association of South East Asian Nations conference including other regional leaders. While there, Suu Kyi, whose administration has no control over the security forces under a constitution drafted during military rule, discussed the Rohingya crisis with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. China and the United States also compete for influence in Myanmar. Burma Meetings With Northern Groups Make No Progress on Peace Talks A govt delegation met UWSP/A leaders in Panghsang, the capital of the Wa region, on Nov. 11, 2017. / Nyi Rang / Facebook CHIANG MAI, Thailand A government peace delegation led by Border Affairs Minister Lt-Gen Ye Aung failed to make any progress towards establishing peace talks with Myanmars northeastern-based ethnic armed groups over the weekend. The government delegation, which included high-level military leaders, met separately with the leaders of the United Wa State Party/United Wa State Army (UWSP/UWSA) and Monglas National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) in Special Region No. 2 and No. 4 respectively on Nov. 11 and 12 to discuss regional development, state-run newspapers reported on Tuesday. The UWSP/UWSA said the meeting discussed ways to build mutual trust, as well as political issues and matters related to development. Regarding political discussions, the government delegation urged the UWSP/UWSA to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement [NCA], Nyi Rang from the UWSAs Lashio Liaison Office posted on his Facebook page on Tuesday evening. The UWSA responded to continue according to the political dialogue framework drafted by the Federal Political Negotiation and Consultative Committee (FPNCC), which was shared with the governments Peace Commission in May last year. The FPNCC continues to assert the need for an alternative process to the NCA, which was drafted with the involvement of 16 ethnic armed organizations (EAOs), excluding the Wa and Mongla, over a period of almost two years and signed by eight of 21 government recognized EAOs in October 2015. More than two years after the signing and implementation of the NCA, the National League for Democracy-led government has yet to make peace with non-signatories of the NCA. No specific peace proposals were discussed at the meetings over the weekend, according to sources close to the northern-based groups, despite the governments repeated insistence that it is doing its best to hold talks with active ethnic armed groups in northern Shan State and Kachin State. Their positions are diametrically opposed, so it is hard for the two sides [the government and the ethnic armed groups] to hold face-to-face talks, said U Maung Maung Soe, a political analyst familiar with ethnic affairs. The door to talks will remain closed as long as the government and the Tatmadaw [Myanmars military] do not accede to the FPNCCs request [to meet them as a bloc] and do not consider holding at least informal meetings with the group, he said. According to sources close to the Wa and Mongla, the government delegation brought up the issue of further peace talks with the groups. However, the talk did not go further as the government maintained its condition that talks could only be held with the groups individually, rather than with the FPNCC. The Facebook post included a demand that the government take steps to reverse the Shan State Parliaments 2016 classification of three members of the FPNCC Kokangs Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Taang Nationalities Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Arakan Army (AA) as terrorist organizations. A post on Nyi Rangs Facebook page said the government and Wa delegations discussed possible further collaboration to build mutual trust and support for the regions development. The Wa first requested such support when they travelled to Naypyitaw to meet State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in July last year. Among specific topics discussed at the weekend discussions were the possibility of the government supplying materials [tar] to build new roads within Wa-controlled areas; possible plans for a 60,000 MW hydropower plant in Mong Tong Township in Mongmaw District; and the issuance of national identity cards to students in Wa state to enable them to continue their higher education in Lashio, Mandalay and Yangon. The UWSP reiterated that its vice chairman Xiao Minliang (Tax Ngox) vows that the Wa state will never secede from the territory of the Union of Myanmar, a promise the Wa has made to the government since last year. The Wa were granted a self-administrative zone under the 2008 military-authored Constitution along with five other minority groups: the Palaung (Taang), Kokang, PaO, Danu and Naga. Burma Tillerson to Press Myanmar Army Chief to Halt Violence so Rohingya Can Return US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. / Reuters YANGON US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will stress the need to halt violence and stabilize Rakhine State when he meets the head of Myanmars military on Wednesday in a bid to ease the Rohingya refugee crisis, a senior State Department official said. More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since late August, driven out by a counter-insurgency clearance operation of Myanmar forces in Rakhine. A top UN official has called the operation a textbook case of ethnic cleansing. Attending an East Asia summit in Manila on Tuesday, Tillerson met Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, whose less than two-year-old civilian administration shares power with the military and has no control over its generals. He will meet Daw Aung San Suu Kyi again in the Myanmar capital of Naypyitaw on Wednesday, and hold separate talks with the head of the armed forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Asked what approach Tillerson would take with Myanmars army chief, the State Department official told journalists in a briefing by teleconference that the emphasis would be on restoring peace in Rakhine. We are focusing on trying to stabilize areas in northern Rakhine so that people can return there, stopping the violence, making sure that the military would protect all populations in that area equally and that they conduct a credible investigation that leads to accountability for people who have perpetrated abuses, said the official, who was with Tillerson in Manila and declined to be identified. The official said the consequences for the country, also known as Burma, if it failed to respond to the crisis with accountability could be part of the conversation with the military leader. Burma made a lot of progress and we would not want to see that progress reversed, the official added. US senators in Washington are pressing for economic sanctions and travel restrictions targeting the Myanmar military and its business interests. The secretary will reiterate support for Burmas democratic transition and urge the Burmese government to protect the local population and allow unhindered humanitarian and media access, [and] support for a credible investigation of abuses, the official added. Accusations of organized mass rape and other crimes against humanity were leveled at the Myanmar military on Sunday by another senior UN official who had toured camps in Bangladesh where Rohingya refugees have taken shelter. Whitewash Pramila Patten, special representative of the UN secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, said she would raise accusations against the Myanmar military with the International Criminal Court in the Hague. The military, known as the Tatmadaw, has consistently protested its innocence, and on Monday it posted the findings of an internal investigation on the Facebook page of Min Aung Hlaing. It said it had found no instances where its soldiers had shot and killed Rohingya villagers, raped women or tortured prisoners. It denied that security forces had torched Rohingya villages or used excessive force. The military said that, while 376 terrorists were killed, there were no deaths of innocent people. Human rights groups poured scorn on the militarys investigation, branding it a whitewash and calling for UN and independent investigators to be allowed into Myanmar. The Burmese militarys absurd effort to absolve itself of mass atrocities underscores why an independent international investigation is needed to establish the facts and identify those responsible, Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. Amnesty International also dismissed the militarys internal investigation. There is overwhelming evidence that the military has murdered and raped Rohingya and burned their villages to the ground, the London-based rights group said. The government in mostly Buddhist Myanmar regards the Muslim Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. And Daw Aung San Suu Kyis failure to speak out strongly over their plight has widely damaged the Nobel Peace Prize winners international reputation as a stateswoman. Many diplomats, however, believe Myanmars fragile transition to democracy after 49 years of military rule would be jeopardized if she publicly criticized the armed forces. Both parts of the government will have to work together in order to solve this problemTrying to get two of them to work together, to try to solve the problem, is certainly going to be very important, the US official said. The US official said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi had been forthcoming in her talks with Tillerson and others during the past few days about the steps that needed to be taken to improve the situation, including plans for the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau were among those she met in Manila to discuss the Rohingya crisis. This is a tremendous concern to Canada and to many, many countries around the world, Trudeau told a news conference. Japans Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged up to 117 billion yen ($1 billion) of development aid to Myanmar in his meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. While world leaders wrung their hands, thousands of Rohingya remained stranded in Myanmar, on beaches around the mouth of the Naf River, hoping to find a boat to make the short, sometimes perilous crossing to Bangladesh. Theyre still coming, risking their lives, driven by fears of starvation and violence, Shariful Azam, a police official in Bangladeshs Coxs Bazar, a narrow spit of land where the worlds most urgent humanitarian crisis is unfolding. Burma UNFC Set to Meet Govt for 9th Round of Peace Talks in Yangon The government and UNFC delegations meet for their seventh round of talks in Yangon on Oct 23, 2017. / Chan Son / The Irrawaddy CHIANG MAI, Thailand The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), representing an alliance of five armed ethnic groups, and the government will meet for a ninth round of talks to pave the way for the bloc to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA), in Yangons National Reconciliation and Peace Center on Thursday. Following an eighth round of talks last week (Nov 8-9), the two sides said they were close to reaching an agreement on the UNFCs eight-point proposal a list of key demands by bloc members to sign the NCA. The main sticking point is the future name of the country. As the second point on their list, the UNFC has proposed that the country be officially described as the Federal Democratic Union but the government wants it to be the Democracy and Federal Union. The government delegation, which also includes representatives of the Tatmadaw, is opposed to starting with the designation federal. It is because our generation has been indoctrinated to think of federal to mean seceding from the union, said U Tun Zaw, a spokesman for the UNFC. Whether the bloc will sign the NCA is totally dependent on the negotiations during the ninth round of talks [tomorrow], U Tun Zaw said. He added that the alliance was sticking to its position that it would not sign the NCA until every item in its eight-point proposal had been agreed. We are now close to signing the NCA, but we cannot say exactly when, said the UNFCs chairman, Naing Hong Sar, during a speech at a political dialogue framework review meeting between the UNFCs delegation for political negotiations (DPN) and the eight current signatories of the NCA on Monday in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The talks between the UNFC and the government have continued without conclusion despite the eight-point proposal having been around one and a half years. The main obstacle is the limitations regarding policy. If this rigidity continues, Tun Zaw said, hurdles will persist during the negotiations. Prior to their departure to Yangon, the senior leaders of the bloc discussed the advantages and impacts of signing the NCA at a executive committee meeting in Chiang Mai on Tuesday, where the top leadership of the five member organizations the New Mon State Party (NMSP), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), Lahu Democratic Union (LDU), Arakan National Council (ANC) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) were present. The SSPP has asked to withdraw from the UNFC, but they are still taking part in the groups activities, as their request to leave has not been formally approved. Burma US Secretary of State Voices Support for Individual Sanctions Against Security Forces A joint press conference between Rex Tillerson and Daw Aung San Suu kyi in Naypyitaw on Wednesday. / The Irrawaddy YANGON US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States would consider individual sanctions against security forces found responsible for human rights abuses against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State. More than 600,000 Rohingya are now in refugee camps in Bangladesh after fleeing the Myanmar militarys clearance operations since August when a Rohingya militant group attacked 30 police outpost in northern Rakhine State, citing accounts of arbitrary killings, rapes and arson by the security forces. To seek accountability from the army, the US announced sanctions against Myanmars military leadership last month, ceasing travel waivers for current and former senior leadership of the Burmese military while assessing authorities to consider economic options available to target individuals associated with the atrocities. The restrictions also include all units and officers involved in operations in northern Rakhine State to be ineligible to receive or participate in any US assistance programs. Rex Tillerson was in Myanmars capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday to meet with State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu kyi and military chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing. During a joint press conference with Daw Aung San Suu kyi in the afternoon, Tillerson said all of the individual sanctions have to be evidence based. But the Secretary of the State said he would not advise broad-based economic sanctions against the entire country. If we have credible information that we believe to be very reliable that certain individuals were responsible for certain acts that we find unacceptable, then targeted sanctions on individuals very well may be appropriate, he said. While reaffirming the US commitment to Myanmars transition and condemning the Rohingya militant attacks in August, Tillerson also called for a credible investigation into human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims committed by Myanmars security forces. Were deeply concerned by credible reports of widespread atrocities committed by Myanmars security forces and by vigilantes who were unrestrained by the security forces during the recent violence in Rakhine State, he said. But the Myanmar Army denied the atrocities in the internal investigation released on Monday. After the meeting, a Facebook post of Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing said he explained to Tillerson the real situation on the ground in Rakhine, the reasons behind the exodus, the militarys cooperation with the government, repatriation and delivering aid. Editorial Do Not Lose Sight of ARSA A screenshot from an ARSA propaganda video that went online after attacks in August. The international community is rightly focused on humanitarian issues in northern Rakhine State. If the situation is not resolved in the near future, there is a danger that the region will become destabilized, leading to further violence. There is no military solution to the crisis in Rakhine State; we must find political solutions and compromises. Nor should we lose sight of the activities of the militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), or Harakah al-Yaqin. In fact, ARSA initiated the latest violence with attacks on innocent civilians and security forces on Aug. 25, provoking a heavy-handed military response. ARSAs leader is Ata Ullah, believed to have been born into a Rohingya family in Pakistan and now wanted in Myanmar. He conveys his orders and instructions to the group verbally or through audio-video recordings. He and his terrorist group are believed to have sympathizers in the Middle East and beyond. It has been reported by several news publications that most of ARSAs funding comes from Rohingya living in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, with additional support coming from other Middle Eastern countries with small Rohingya communities. According to eyewitness accounts from refugee camps in Bangladesh, foreign donors believed to be based in the Middle East and elsewhere are distributing cash to refugees, and ARSA militants roam freely. Ata Ullahs whereabouts are unknown. The terrorist chief is believed to be on the run but he has several deputies who manage day-to-day operations and communicate with media and donors. Observers have noted that ARSAs propaganda machine is wide reaching; the militants and the groups propaganda wing are fluent in English and make effective use of social media platforms. They are adept at making themselves appear moderate and reasonable. They are not. ARSA militants, according to several reports and accounts published in recent months, mingle with villagers and wear civilian clothes. ARSAs tactics more closely resemble those of the Muslim insurgents in southernmost Thailand, adjacent to Malaysia, than they do the methods used by Myanmars other ethnic armies. Their preferred mode of operation is to mobilize hundreds of villagers armed with homemade weapons for attacks on state positions in the middle of the night. ARSA militants are not well armed but have undergone intensive training in the hills and forests near the border with Bangladesh. The training includes use of firearms and explosives as well as physical exercises. Video footage shows that these militants do have some AK-47, M-16, G3 and G4 assault rifles. They also recruit desperate Muslim villagers to launch attacks on army outposts. During clearance operations the police and army have faced massive numbers of villagers in some cases they have been encircled by them who were aided by militants, forcing security forces to return fire. The number of militants killed during the operation is believed to be high; the Bangladesh side has said over 3,000 were killed but Myanmar government estimates put the figure at hundreds killed in August and early September. At a meeting with Bangladeshi officials in Naypyitaw this week, senior Myanmar police officers presented a list of over 1,000 terrorists believed to be taking refuge in Bangladesh and asked that they be handed over. So far Bangladesh has sent back four alleged Rohingya militants to Myanmar. In October last year ARSA launched well-coordinated attacks on Myanmar Border Guard Police outposts, escaping with dozens of assault rifles and ammunition. It has been reported that since the attacks in August, ARSA has received a large amount of donations from groups in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, as well as international media coverage. However, the Myanmar government officially considers the group a terrorist organization, shutting the door to talks with them. ARSA leaders claim they are fighting to secure the rights of the marginalized Rohingya people and to end decades-long oppression at the hands of the government. (In the early 1950s, Myanmar faced a mujahideen rebellion in northern Rakhine State by militant Muslim separatists. The Myanmar Army launched decisive operations against the mujahideen in northern Rakhine. The mujahideen leadership eventually surrendered to government forces.) This week, ahead of US Secretary of State Rex Tillersons visit, the army continued to deny atrocities and use of excessive force against Rohingya Muslims during clearance operations. The report on an internal investigation led by Inspector-General of Defense Services Lt-Gen Aye Win was released on Monday. It stated that a team spent nearly a month on the ground gathering information and interviewing nearly 3,000 people, including Rakhine, Hindu and Bengali people (the term used for Rohingya in the report and by many others in the country to imply they are interlopers from Bangladesh). The findings of the investigation stated that all security members abided by the orders and directives of superior bodies, especially the rules of engagement-ROE in connection with the rights of self-defense and in discharging duties during the armed conflicts and anti-terrorist operations. Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a statement saying the armys claim is contrary to a growing body of evidence to the contrary, and repeating calls for a UN fact-finding mission to be permitted entry to the region. The Burmese militarys absurd effort to absolve itself of mass atrocities underscores why an independent international investigation is needed to establish the facts and identify those responsible, said HRW Asia Director Brad Adams. The Burmese authorities have once again shown that they cant and wont credibly investigate themselves. HRW is right to say that the findings lack credibility. But even as we condemn the human rights abuses and humanitarian problems in northern Rakhine State, insist on accountability from the army and government, and ask that independent organizations and media be allowed to travel to the restive region, we should not lose sight of the activities of ARSA and its network, its links to extremist groups, its financial resources, or the donors and political and strategic support groups standing behind it. ARSA has connections with foreign extremist groups, despite its blanket denials of such accusations. For instance, Abdus Qadoos Burmi, a Pakistani of Rohingya descent, the groups mentor based in Karachi, has called for jihad in Myanmar and has well-documented links to Lashkar-e-Taiba (the Army of the Righteous), one of South Asias largest Islamic terrorist organizations, whose operations are based mainly in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba was founded in Afghanistan in 1987 with funding from now deceased Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden. Abdus Qadoos has even appeared at meetings with Lashkar-e-Taiba supremo Hafiz Mohammed Syed. Myanmars neighbors India, China and Thailand, along with several other Asean countries, have been assisting Myanmar and its security forces on this issue, as they recognize the danger of terrorist operations and networks. To combat terrorism, Myanmars security forces will need assistance, intelligence sharing and training from neighboring countries that have gone through their own dark times with terrorists striking innocent people. Like any government or armed forces, the Myanmar government and military has a responsibility to defend itself and its people, but innocent civilians must not be targeted. Wednesday, Nov 15th, 2017 (7:35 am) - Score 4,195 The Government has unveiled a 2m trial that offers vouchers worth between 500 to 3,000 to help businesses in four areas around the United Kingdom to get a Gigabit (1000Mbps+) broadband service installed, which is focused on helping to extend full fibre (FTTP) infrastructure. Regular readers will not be surprised by this development because we reported that such vouchers were part of the Governments related Local Full Fibre Network (LFFN) pilots in September (here), although it does at least confirm that this is one of the directions being taken. NOTE: This 2m trial forms part of their larger 10m pilot, which is itself taken from the 200m LFFN allocation. The Four Pilot Areas * Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire * Bristol, with Bath and North East Somerset * Coventry and Warwickshire * West Yorkshire Combined Authority (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York) The trial voucher Scheme will only allow vouchers to be used to help pay for new connections that are gigabit capable, which will almost entirely support Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) style optical fibre lines but can also work with other technologies (e.g. Fixed Wireless / Microwave) provided theyre also capable of such speeds. Matt Hancock, UK Minister for Digital, said: A world-class digital communications network is essential to ensure the UKs future competitiveness in the global market and its ability to attract investment. Faster and more reliable connections are transforming the way we live and work, and better broadband supports businesses to grow and become more productive. These voucher pilots, alongside a range of other actions, are testament to Governments ambition for full fibre infrastructure across the UK to underpin our digital economy. Andrew Jones MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: We are determined to provide the infrastructure needed for British businesses to thrive and prosper. The rollout of next generation, full-fibre broadband will help do that. Lightning internet speeds and unprecedented reliability will boost trade and ensure our firms can connect effortlessly to their customers and suppliers. The top voucher level of 3,000 is exactly the same as the Government offered several years ago under their original Connection Voucher Scheme for businesses across the UK. The original vouchers gobbled 81m+ of public funding and approved grants for 54,000+ SME businesses (15,000 in Greater London) across 50 UK city areas, enabling them to install a superfast broadband (30Mbps+) service (here and here). Some may question why the new scheme, which requires a significantly faster connection, is capped to the same funding level. However its worth pointing out that the cost of FTTP deployments has come down since the original effort and related ISPs are becoming more common. Likewise Openreachs recent reduction to the cost of their FTTP on Demand (FoD / FTTPoD) service may play a part (here). We expect that the Government will eventually roll this out across much of the UK and a special website has been setup for the scheme (note: the URL they give in their press release doesnt work but weve put the right one below). The market test phase will end when the money has gone or by the end of March 2019, whichever comes first. The tragic run of gun violence of the past couple of months calls for strong measures. One promising tool, smart guns, seems to be accessible. The approach, which borrows significantly from mobile and enterprise IT technology, indeed is a good solution, but for a slightly different set of problems. The most often discussed form of smart gun is one that employs the type of fingerprint sensor used on laptops. This, the thinking goes, can stop use of guns that are stolen, mistaken as toys by kids, or taken from citizens or law enforcement during a struggle. In a generally informative piece at Network World, Deepak Puri, who has held executive positions at Oracle, Netscape and VMware and is founder of Skilled Analysts and co-founder of Democracy Labs, mentioned three companies that employ fingers in authentication in some way. BioFire Technologies and Safe Gun Technology use sensors. The third, iGun, relies on an authorizing signal from a ring worn by the legitimate user. When it is close to the gun stock, a code is sent that allows the trigger to be unlocked. Another approach perhaps borrows even more liberally from IT and telecom. Brooklyn (N.Y.) Borough President Eric Adams recently ran a contest seeking the best student gun safety project. Adams, a retired NYPD detective, offered a $1 million grant to the winner. A group of inventors known as Autonomous Ballistics, which is associated with New York Universitys Tandon School of Engineering, developed a holster that has four levels of security. Fingerprint readers are one of the four. Skeptics say stress and the perspiration it causes reduce reliability. Autonomous Ballistics idea is to work around this issue by adding three other layers of authentication. The approaches, which are focused in the holster, use fingerprints, voice recognition, RF scanning and, as a last resort, an authorization code entered into a digital reader. If any of these works, the gun, a Glock, is released by the holster. The technology, the story says, can be adapted to other guns. There is a catch. These technologies do indeed have great promise and can avoid a huge amount of heartache. But, for the most part, they dont have anything to do with mass shootings. Most mass shootings, such as the one at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 in which 58 people died, are carried out by legally owned guns. Unfortunately, the insidious violence that smart guns can reduce rarely makes headlines or inspires debate. Thus, when a mass shooting does occur and smart guns are brought up, the easy answer by opponents is just that: Smart guns wont stop most mass shootings. Thats unfortunate. What is even more unfortunate is that it leaves the issue more squarely in the lap of politicians. This is how Wired puts it: Smart guns have extensive demonstrable value. But a solution to the mass shooting epidemic in the US appears to rest in the political and regulatory arenaa place that has shown as little eagerness to embrace gun safety advancement as the industry itself. Technology can play a big role in reducing gun violence. Unfortunately, it doesnt seem to be the answer for the highest profile manifestation of the problem. 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. Digital transformation continues maturing, with machine learning, security, intelligent automation, APIs, collaboration and more helping individuals and organisations to creatively find that pivot point to get to the next level. CA Technologies chief executive Mike Gregoire opened CA World 17 in Las Vegas by "encouraging business and IT executives to find the intersection of innovation and execution, and to seek partners like CA, whose software solutions accelerate delivery of business value and help unlock enterprise creativity". Normally I'd have my own video of the keynote, but CA has professionally recorded the well worth watching keynote, and you can see a replay of it and the two day two keynotes, by CTO Otto Berkes and Chief Product Officer Ayman Sayed here. During the keynote, Gregoire said: "Weve long passed the point where enterprise software is used merely to drive efficiencies. The focus today is on innovating the next big shift for your company. "That is the number one priority we are focused on providing you with solutions that will remove the barriers between your ideas and outcomes." Naturally, Gregoire "urged executives to develop what he calls a sense of digital intuition: leveraging a myriad of customer data to find patterns, anticipate trends, inform decisions and even manage risk". As you'd expect, he drew on CAs "own blueprint for digital transformation and experiences, explaining how the company has reorganised itself as a 'Modern Software Factory' in recent years to leverage agile, automation, insights and security to enable maximum business value for its customers". He went on to "recognise the investments that attendees had already made in information technology and advised them to leverage their existing strengths to support new innovations". Gartner notes in its "Market Trends: Providers Must Exploit the Changing Nature of IT Modernisation Services" report that with digital business change being a top CIO priority, existing IT infrastructure and applications, as well as business processes, must accommodate the new quickly and rapidly. If legacy systems fail to support, integrate or enable these new digital initiatives, digital business success will be impaired, or even fail". To this, Gregoire said "The ability to manage change, respond to new inputs or insights and pivot has never been more important. Our entire portfolio is designed around the pillars of the Modern Software Factory to increase the velocity, security and performance of the solutions and the apps that are critical to our customers businesses. Gregoire also discussed the expectations on governments around the world to actively seek ways to improve the citizen experience through software. In that vein, CA today announced the CA Smart Government Challenge, (media release here) a contest that invites US-based developers to submit their most innovative ideas for improving the citizen experience of federal government services through software. For this challenge, CA will award up to five finalists a cash prize of US$5000 each and the chance to vie for a grand prize of US$75,000 and access to the CA Accelerator Boot Camp, an immersive course that has never before been open to outside developers. Gregoire also covered the companys own innovation engine, the CA Accelerator. With 10 start-ups currently enrolled in the programme, these incubations function like lean start-ups within CA. Each one receives support and funding to develop and test new product ideas in the marketplace. One of the programs success stories, FreshTracks.io today announced the open registration for its beta programme. Gregoire highlighted customers who have built reputations by executing well on innovative thinking, including: Citi FinTech The digital arm of Citi Group responsible for delivering a superior mobile app experience to Citis xxx retail banking customers, and a customer of CA Agile Requirements Designer. The digital arm of Citi Group responsible for delivering a superior mobile app experience to Citis xxx retail banking customers, and a customer of CA Agile Requirements Designer. Eurosport With CA API Management and CA App Experience Analytics, this pan-European sports network now offers a first-of-its-kind viewer experience that gets fans closer to the action than ever before. With CA API Management and CA App Experience Analytics, this pan-European sports network now offers a first-of-its-kind viewer experience that gets fans closer to the action than ever before. Nasdaq a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services whose technology powers more than 90 marketplaces in 50 countries, and a customer of CA Privileged Access Manager cybersecurity solutions. CA Technologies is showcasing more than 20 innovations and enhancements across the portfolio at CA World 17. The company says: "These solutions give companies the ability to respond and adapt to change, as well as evolve existing technology investments for future success. From on-premises to the cloud and everything in between, only CA delivers industry-leading products, solutions and expertise that removes the barriers to compete and succeed." Following his keynote, Gregoire was joined by mountaineer, skier and filmmaker Jimmy Chin for a fascinating discussion on balancing creativity and execution. This was an excellent discussion by both gentlemen, and was well worth watching and learning from. There was plenty more announced at CA World 2017 - here's my second CA World 17 article entitled: "CA World 2017 Day 1 and 2, 14 VIDEOS: Exec interviews, Q&As, show floor tour and more", with my final wrap of the two-day event which covers all the major announcements with analysis here in an article entitled: "CA World '17: If your business doesn't have a 'Modern Software Factory,' will it survive?". CA's CEO, Mike Gregoire, in conversation on stage with Jimmy Chin. The writer is attending CA World '17 as a guest of CA Technologies. Peter Dinham - retired in 2020. He is a veteran journalist and corporate communications consultant. He has worked as a journalist in all forms of media newspapers/magazines, radio, television, press agency and now, online including with the Canberra Times, The Examiner (Tasmania), the ABC and AAP-Reuters. As a freelance journalist he also had articles published in Australian and overseas magazines. He worked in the corporate communications/public relations sector, in-house with an airline, and as a senior executive in Australia of the worlds largest communications consultancy, Burson-Marsteller. He also ran his own communications consultancy and was a co-founder in Australia of the global photographic agency, the Image Bank (now Getty Images). Huawei is participating in the Smart City Expo World Congress 2017 (SCEWC) in Barcelona under the theme of Leading New ICT, Creating a Smart City Nervous System, highlighting how a Smart City can be like "a living organism that works seamlessly to continuously learn and enhance the citys services". Together with its global partners, Huawei is demonstrating joint ICT solutions to "connect the digital and physical worlds across city administration, public services, and industrial economies". Huawei's stand at SCEWC 2017. The company is "using new ICT solutions including cloud computing, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI)" to "drive unified coordination, cross-sector collaboration, and intelligent analysis for effective management of city services". Alongside the SCEWC, Huawei says it "hosted the Global Smart City Summit, where representatives from the European Union, international standards organisations, world-renowned consultancies, relevant research institutions and leading Smart Cities shared their insights and experiences in driving Smart City development with over 400 city administrators from around the world". Well, Huawei says it is creating a Smart City Nervous System to make the city as an organic life body. To become a Smart City "involves the digital transformation of a city to address challenges in the physical world". "This demands data-driven systems that combine management and IoT data to help authorities manage the city and enable the physical and digital worlds to be integrated. "Smart City development requires a fundamental change to city administration and for the development to flourish it needs to be a priority for the government. In addition, there must be a strong and capable Smart City project team, long-term and stable investment, and city leaders need to partner with a leading digital provider that can facilitate the transformation." Yan Lida, president of Huawei Enterprise Business Group, said: A Smart City is like a living organism, which is powered by a nervous system. This Smart City nervous system comprises a 'brain' [the control centre] and 'peripheral nerves' [the network and sensors], gathering real-time information about the status of the city, transmitting the data, enabling the 'brain' to analyse and make informed decisions, delivering feedback commands, and ultimately carrying out intelligent actions. "This creates a seamless link between the physical and digital worlds. Leveraging leading new ICT such as cloud computing, IoT and AI, Huawei is committed to creating a strong nervous system that powers Smart Cities. With our innovations and investment in various technologies, we develop an open platform for Smart Cities, which is compatible with various devices and supports a wide range of applications. We aim to be the rich soil that supports the robust and sustainable development of Smart Cities. "Huawei is one of the few ICT solution providers in the industry that can offer end-to-end cloud-pipe-device solutions, leading the way to connecting the physical and digital worlds. We will continue to work together with our ecosystem of partners to create top-level designs addressing city administrators needs and achieving the ultimate goals of a Smart City to enable good governance, promote industry development and deliver benefits for the people. Yan Lida, president of Huawei Enterprise BG, delivered the opening speech at Huaweis Global Smart City Summit. Huawei also released its "Intelligent Operation Centre" to a global audience During the Global Smart City Summit, Huawei says it released the "Intelligent Operation Centre", a solution that functions as the brain of the Smart City, connecting the digital and physical worlds. Smart city evolution requires E2E interconnection and a leading digital partner that can offer all-round support Huawei is demonstrating comprehensive Smart City solutions together with SAP, Honeywell, Hexagon, Chinasoft International, Esri, RuiCheng Technology and other industry partners at the SCEWC Below is the text from Huawei's fact sheet on its "Smart City Solutions" please read on if interested in learning more, with the following text a direct copy of Huawei's information. Huaweis Smart City Solutions Overview The global trend towards urbanisation is forcing many cities to rethink how they operate. By 2025, 27 megacities with 10 million residents or more will exist, placing extraordinary pressure on public transportation, hospitals, waste management systems, and the power grid. Cities of the future will need to be dynamic and constantly evolve to keep pace with citizen expectations for high quality services and efficient systems while ensuring sustainability. Smart cities have the power to change the way cities function enabling intelligent decision making and improving connectivity and collaboration between the digital and physical worlds to generate innovation, economic growth, social progress and prosperity. However, the underlying Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructure will be critical to make this possible. The key to smartness is open technology infrastructure and a unified platform that can keep up with the relentless supply of data from tens of thousands of diverse systems and data formats, such as video, image and text. Based on 30 years of ICT expertise, Huawei offers leading new ICT solutions featuring cloud, Internet of Things, Big Data and Mobility, to enable a properly connected smart city that transforms services such as transport, education, energy consumption and emergency services. Smart Strategy for Smart Cities Huawei is uniquely positioned to turn smart city ambitions into reality. Based on its cloud-pipe-device strategy, Huawei provides cloud computing solutions to power city-wide digital transformation; advanced IoT and broadband networks to make ubiquitous connectivity possible; and smart city platforms to accelerate the adoption of smart city initiatives. Huaweis transformative technology and solutions combine proven global best practices with the expertise of local developers and companies to enable the development of local ecosystems through which citizens and businesses can share assets and resources collaboratively to foster innovation and productivity. Huawei co-operates in an open partnership ecosystem with more than 400 global partners, including SAP, Hexagon, Esri, Accenture, Schindler, GE and Honeywell, to explore new innovations for smarter and safer cities. Contributing to smart city ecosystem development, Huawei has established 13 OpenLabs and 36 Innovation Centers around the globe to promote joint R&D, and has launched a worldwide Developer Enablement Plan 2.0 to encourage innovation. Leading-edge technology and solutions Huaweis Smart City solutions enable ubiquitous connectivity, information sharing and integration, and cross-sector collaboration. The leading new ICT architecture powering the solutions creates a Smart City nervous system, which includes: Intelligent Operations Center (IOC) the brain: By aggregating and sharing information across city agencies, Huaweis IOC provides a unified perspective across the city to help city leaders prevent and respond quickly to fast-changing events. The solution is powered by Cloud, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence: The management platform provides a city dashboard that supports data collection, supervision, analysis, and management of city events and emergencies, as well as decision-making for urban services. The underlying infrastructure offers a secure cloud data center based on open architecture that enables the integration and sharing of city information resources to improve government service efficiency and decision-making accuracy. City Internet of Things (IoT) the peripheral nerves: Huaweis IoT Connection Management platform enables digital transformation of cities through smart sensing and the interconnection of people, processes, applications and things. Covering open services, data management and connection management, the platform is supported by Huaweis IoT Network, which includes Narrowband IoT a technology standard being developed by 3GPP for deployment of IoT devices over existing LTE networks, eLTE, 2G/3G/LTE, Wi-Fi, home gateways and enterprise gateways. Connected devices are equipped with Huaweis LiteOS a secure, lightweight and intelligent OS, and MCU, ARM and x86 chips. Broadband Networks: Huawei provides wired and wireless broadband networks that enable ubiquitous broadband coverage supporting high-speed data, video, and voice services. With city-wide connectivity, enriched communication services can be delivered to citizens. Huawei offers comprehensive solutions across three core pillars: Smart Government: Huawei provides an integrated platform for government networks, cloud, collaborative offices and multi-dimensional security. It enables sharing and integration of data, and collaboration among various governmental agencies to optimize resources and improve efficiency across public safety, urban transport, emergency handling, energy management, and environmental protection. Smart Industry: Huaweis solutions are designed to fuel the economic growth of a city and drive the development of intelligent and digital innovations to attract strategic investment. For example, Smart Park provides professional IT services and cloud-based data centers to help enterprises grow their businesses, and Smart Tourism provides technical support to the whole tourism industry chain to encourage tourism in a city. Smart Life: Huaweis solutions facilitate intelligent connectivity among smart applications and interactive platforms for real-time traffic information, healthcare, and education. Smart Life improves city services to enhance citizens quality of life in a safe and secure environment. Building smart cities of the future Huaweis Smart City solutions have been successfully deployed in the areas of governance, public safety, electric power, transportation, education and healthcare in more than 100 cities across 40 countries. Notable examples include: IoT Weifang: The government of Weifang City and Huawei launched an NB-IoT-based IoT sample city to sharpen city management and improve social wellbeing. The first city-level IoT platform supports the integrated development and deployment of IoT applications. For example, the smart lighting system reduces electric power consumption by 30% and increased O&M efficiency by 45%; while, the smart water system monitors 9 indexes in 39 rural water plants, ensuring all local villagers can have safe water supply. Traffic Brain for Shenzhen Public Security Bureau: Huawei collaborated with industry partners to develop a global-first all-scenario Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) solution that forms the traffic brain for Shenzhen. It alleviates city traffic congestions through precise traffic flow statistics and adaptive traffic light control; enhances work efficiency by 300% through centrally processing traffic data via a unified Big Data platform; and enables the mining of traffic intelligence in minutes through visualised data modelling. Yanbu Smart City: The Royal Commission of Yanbu is cooperating with Huawei to build Saudi Arabias first smart city. Through deploying 10 smart applications including smart parking, smart bins, venue crowd analytics, and smart streetlights, the efficiency of utility management, public safety and livability of Yanbu have been improved. For example, garbage removal efficiency has increased by 30% and energy costs for public lighting fell by 30%. Microgrid Solar Plants in Cameroon: Huaweis Microgrid Solar Solution is supporting the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy of Cameroon to realize rural electrification of 1,000 localities, driving the development of local industries, creating economic returns for the government, and improving the livelihood in Cameroon. With the deployment of 166 sets of off-grid systems, the rural electrification rate has increased by 1.7%, serving 120,000 villagers, increasing the school enrolment rate of local children, and creating more than 1,000 job opportunities. A story published in The Atlantic on Monday afternoon (US time) used selectively edited tweets from WikiLeaks in order to paint the organisation as being pro-Trump and pro-Russia. The article in question, plugged as an exclusive by writer Julia Ioffe, reported on a Twitter conversation between WikiLeaks and Donald Trump Jr. (Archived copy of the article is here.) Based on the messages, which appear to be leaked from the US Congressional panel that is investigating to find out if there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Ioffe wrote that WikiLeaks had asked Trump Jr to leak his father's tax returns to the organisation so that it could bolster its claims to be an impartial source. To justify this conclusion,Ioffe quoted from a tweet part of which ran thus: "That means that the vast amount of stuff that we are publishing on Clinton will have much higher impact, because it wont be perceived as coming from a pro-Trump pro-Russia source. Incredible. The Atlantic edited "Trump Jr" DM story to reverse its meaning even removing "that the Clinton campaign is constantly slandering us with" right after "pro-Russia". Full text changes everything. https://t.co/8pNUF1xW23 Julian Assange ? (@JulianAssange) November 14, 2017 But Ioffe had selectively edited this tweet as was later revealed by WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange. The entire tweet read: "That means that the vast amount of stuff that we are publishing on Clinton will have much higher impact, because it wont be perceived as coming from a pro-Trump pro-Russia source, which the Clinton campaign is constantly slandering us with." (emphasis mine) The Atlantic has not corrected its story as of 9.30 AEST. The only concession that Ioffe made was to tweet, "My bad. I did not realise that there were three tweets." My bad, didnt realize there were three tweets. Carry on! Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) 14 November 2017 Reactions to her tweet were scathing. Wrote one, "My bad?? Thats what i say when i cut in, in a lane of traffic. This is how a writer for the @ TheAtlantic explains away her shoddy journalism?" And another said: "Quality journalism there.. Your false claim has reached millions. Your correction has 19 retweets." Lol after first tweet was RTed by how many liberal journals and peeps on the eager tog we Trump bandwagon. This correction wont get nearly as many. Dangerous and misleading journalism.. matt (@themoderatematt) November 14, 2017 The first journalist to write about this doctoring by The Atlantic was freelancer Caitlin Johnstone, who commented, "What Ioffes tweets tell us is that she had full copies of the DMs, since she knew that there were more pages missing from the single tweet by Don Jr. that she had read. "The deceitful omission that is the subject of this article was clarified in the first Don Jr. tweet she replied to. She read it, she analysed it enough to figure out what was missing, but she said nothing about the fact that there were a lot more words in the sentence that she selectively edited out to convey the exact opposite of its meaning." Did you also not realize that it's completely unethical to misquote someone by cutting off their statement mid-sentence and ending it with a "." instead of "..."? You are the perfect example of dishonest media. Brandon Seers (@bseers1984) November 14, 2017 A major part of the tweets that Ioffe's article was based on suggested that WikiLeaks is extremely good at trolling people on Twitter. Some of the requests that the organisation made of Donald Trump Jr like his father's tax returns were highly unlikely to be ever entertained. Ioffe was sacked by Politico in December 2016 for a tweet suggesting that then President-elect Trump may be committing incest with his daughter, Ivanka. SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) invites veterans or current active duty service members to participate in the Homegrown by Heroes program. This is ideal for veterans who are interested in a second career in our state's number one industry, agriculture. The Homegrown by Heroes program allows Illinois farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and producers who have served or are still serving in any branch of the U.S. military to use a special logo on the agricultural products they sell to the public. This special designation sets these farmers apart in the market, allowing these heroes' products to be visible to consumers while giving them the chance to tell their story. "There are great job opportunities in Illinois agriculture. If someone dreams of being a farmer, rancher, or producer, we want to help fulfil those dreams," says Agriculture Director Raymond Poe. "Various statewide organizations work together to provide a unique opportunity that assists veterans interested in pursuing a second career in agriculture." "Since 2011, almost 5 million of our military's servicemen and servicewomen have come from rural communities throughout the USA. As these veterans return home, they bring with them an opportunity to employ their discipline, passion and sense of service to revitalize America's small farms and rural communities. We commend the Illinois Department of Agriculture for continuing this wonderful program and assisting our Illinois Heroes," said Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Director Erica Jeffries. The Homegrown by Heroes program is a free program for our veterans. Participants must renew their certification annually renewal at no cost. To be eligible for the program, the veteran must provide proof of service, a letter of support from their commanding officer or a designated representative, and must maintain 50 percent or greater ownership in the business/operation. For those who qualify, the Homegrown by Heroes Illinois Product logo can be used to identify and market their Illinois grown and Illinois made products on packaging, signage, websites, and social media or wherever their items are being sold. Thanks to the Department's partnership with various agencies and organization, such as Illinois Farm Bureau, Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC), Illinois National Guard, Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs, and Illinois Farmer Veterans Alliance, training and education also are components of the initiative, which will make informational resources available to veterans desiring to farm in the state. These programs will: Develop mentorships between experienced farmers and veterans; Identify community land access that benefits beginning farmers and saves municipalities' maintenance costs; Locate farmers' market opportunities and partnerships; Assist veterans in developing value-added products; Foster relationships with retailers and food service organizations. How to Apply: Step 1: Register with the Farmer Veteran Coalition (FVC). Apply for FVC Membership at http://www.farmvetco.org; Register with FVC Homegrown by Heroes at www.farmvetco.org/homegrown-by-heroes/. Step 2: Register with the Illinois Department of Agriculture; Complete the Homegrown By Heroes Products Logo Application at www2.illinois.gov. Veterans can provide their certificate or certification letter from Farmer Veteran Coalition to the IDOA as verification that they have been certified as a veteran to use the HBH label. BLOOMGINGTON -- Lake Land College agriculture students recently attended the conference and competition of the Post-Secondary Agriculture Student Organization (PAS) in Bloomington on Nov. 3. Two-hundred and fifty students representing eight colleges from across Illinois competed in various areas of agriculture specialization. Illinois PAS Organization is part of a nationwide PAS group known as a career and technical agriculture student organization for the promotion of skills, leadership and education in agriculture. Photos by Ed Cunicelli The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health works in partnership with American Indian and Alaska Native communities to improve the health status, self-sufficiency, and health leadership of Native people. The Center comes at these issues of health and well-being from three primary vantage points: behavioral health programs, training programs and infectious disease prevention studies. November is Native American Heritage Month, and the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, in partnership with the Bloomberg American Health Initiative is hosting Water Is Life, featuring internationally-known Native leaders in environmental justice on Monday, November 20 from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. RSVP FOR WATER IS LIFE At a Glance: A Sampling of the Center for American Indian Health's Work and Programs Behavioral Health NativeVision is a summer camp and after-school program with a powerful focus: Take care of your body and stay in school. As one of the flagship programs at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (CAIH), NativeVision addresses daunting public health issues facing kids living on reservations. WATCH THE VIDEO A sudden cut in funding from the Office of Adolescent Health has imperiled the Center's work: The Center for American Indian Health at Johns Hopkins University fears that, without the grants, researchers there will not have a large enough sample of teens for a rigorous appraisal of a teen pregnancy prevention program for American Indian youth in Arizona, assistant scientist Lauren Tingey said. The program, which is now seeking private funding, just finished serving its 400th family this summer, and the goal was to serve 600. - US News and World Report Family Spirit is an evidence-based, culturally tailored home-visiting program of the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health to promote optimal health and wellbeing for parents and their children. In the program I work in, Family Spirit, we do this in part by restoring cultural knowledge the unique way Native American cultures nurture babies that has been lost over generations of historical trauma and its manifestations, including extreme poverty, substance abuse, low education attainment and hopelessness. In tribal communities in South Dakota and across the country, we combine what is distinctive in our culture with what is universal to positive parenting ways to communicate with young children that help them to develop language skills, for example, and how to deal with the many challenges of toddlerhood in ways that meet the needs of both parent and child. - Crystal Kee, Steamboat, Ariz. "Home visits help strengthen maternal, infant health in Native American communities," The Hub, September 25, 2017 Watch Charmayne's Family Spirit Story Training Programs The overarching purpose of this public health certificate program is to promote participants capacity to address American Indian population health disparities through multidisciplinary public health approaches and culturally competent strategies. The certificate program examines four quadrants of influence: physical, behavioral, political, and spiritual/emotional, which, in balance, comprise the sphere of public health for American Indian communities. Annie Moon is a Navajo and the first in her family to obtain a bachelor's degree. She graduated with an MPH in 2015 with the support of the the training program at the Center. Watch Annie's Story Infectious Disease Prevention Studies The Evaluating Maternal Immunization (EMI) Study wants to understand how American Indian women and other community stakeholders feel about vaccines in pregnancy (also called maternal immunization), so that we may address any concerns or questions and increase awareness about these important interventions. For more than 20 years, we have helped tribes quantify the burden of disease caused by pneumococcus, Hib and other bacteria, and monitor the impact of intervention strategies. Our disease surveillance focuses on diseases that are of high concern to American Indian people. We work with over 20 hospitals and laboratories that serve the Navajo and White Mountain Apache reservations to monitor invasive diseases. This is a two-decade long surveillance project that provides the backbone for many efforts such as studies to evaluate the impact of childhood vaccines. See More: Part of JHSPH's five-part Instagram series Reddit Email 181 Shares By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | On Tuesday, Turkey lambasted the US and its largely Kurdish allies in Syria, the YPG, for having made a deal that allowed 250 Daesh fighters and all their children and relatives to flee from Raqqa. Turkeys prime minister Binali Yildirim said, The YPG terrorists let Daesh [terrorists] leave Raqqa with their weapons instead of eliminating them from the city. One terror group left Raqqa and another settled in. Is this your rational policy? Turkey views the leftist YPG as a branch of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), which is Turkey-based and seeking more autonomy for Turkeys Kurds. The Syrian YPG has only distant ties to the PKK, however, and is mainly focused on Syria. Syrian Kurds, now backed by the US as the Syrian Democratic Forces, were the only local group of fighters willing to take on Daesh. With US air support and an influx of US weapons, they defeated it on the Syrian side of the border in Raqqa province. The Syrian regime only became interested in taking on Daesh once it seemed clear that otherwise the YPG would do the job and gain control over Deir al-Zor as well. The BBC broke the bombshell report that the United States and its local allies worked out a deal with Daesh (ISIS, ISIL) in Raqqa, Syria, to allow them to depart. There were still 250 hardened fighters along with 3500 family members in the capital of the phony caliphate. Raqqa had largely been reduced to rubble, but the 250 fighters could have continued, challenging and imposing high casualty rates on the largely Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces who were besieging the city. The YPG made this deal, with US military officers in the room, after weeks of hard fighting had not resulted in the complete fall of Raqqa. It is also alleged that the Trump administration was impatient for the YPG Kurds to take over hydrocarbon resources in Syria, which they could not do if they remained bogged down in Raqqa, so safe passage for the ISIL fighters and their arsenal was the price of that strategy. US Secretary of Defense James Mattis had vowed to annihilate Daesh members in Syria, so that no foreign fighters went home to fight another day or to damage Western capitals. But apparently he acquiesced when he heard of the YPG plans. The 250 trained and battle-hardened Daesh could go on to do substantial damage to Turkey or to their home countries (they included some foreign fighters as it turned out). Related video: Al Jazeera English: Syrian army liberate last ISIL stronghold in eastern region SPRINGFIELD -- The Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service (Commission) will presented 14 localities with honors for the 2017 Governors Hometown Awards program during a special reception at the Old State Capitol on Nov. 8. The Governors Hometown Awards program gives formal recognition to communities that contributed to their communitys quality of life via projects that had strong volunteer support, met a need, and made a definitive impact. We are pleased that through the preliminary round of judging, 14 localities have been recognized as either cup finalists or project winners of the program, said Commission Executive Director Scott McFarland. It was clear that many communities throughout Illinois have wonderful service projects that use volunteers. Through these awards, we are honored to be able to highlight these projects and the people who gave back. The Commission deemed four of the 14 projects as cup finalists, which are the best projects in each of the four population divisions of the program. These four localities include: East St. Louis - Join Hands Advocacy Project Kewanee - Step Ladder Tutoring Program Macon County - WSOY Community Food Drive Waterloo - Monroe County House of Neighborly Service The Commission presented these projects to a new panel of judges. The judges chose one project as the overall Governors Cup Winner and announced it on Nov. 8. Project winners determined in the preliminary round based on the project category and population division include: Charleston - Lake Charleston Trail System Collinsville - Hometown Heroes Fairfield - FNB Field Fulton County - Canton Gas Explosion Galesburg - Galesburg Heart & Soul Godfrey - Beverly Farm Foundation Lanark - Workation 2016 LaSalle County - LaSalle County Naloxone Program Rock Island - Kids engaged in Natural Growth (KING) Round Lake Beach (Project Runner Up); Mobile Eye-VIPS All projects honored will receive a plaque and a road sign honoring these achievements. The Serve Illinois Commission is a 40-member (25 voting and 15 non-voting), bipartisan board appointed by the Governor and administered by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Its mission is to improve Illinois communities by enhancing volunteerism and instilling an ethic of service throughout the State. Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / November 15, 2017: Miramont Resources Corp. (CSE: MONT) ("Miramont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has completed its acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Puno Gold Corporation ("Puno Gold") in exchange for common shares of Miramont ("Common Shares"). The details of the transaction are set out in press releases issued by Miramont on June 5, 2017, August 28, 2017 and November 8, 2017. Pursuant to the transaction, the Company issued 0.88 of a Miramont common share ("Common Shares") in exchange for each issued and outstanding Puno Gold share. As a result, Miramont issued an aggregate of 15,048,000 Common Shares to the shareholders of Puno Gold in exchange for 17,100,000 Puno Gold shares. In connection with the transaction, Miramont completed a private placement offering of units ("Units"), consisting of both a brokered portion, led by Red Cloud Klondike Strike Inc. and including Sprott Capital Partners, and a non-brokererd portion. The Units were sold at a price of CDN$0.30 per Unit, for aggregate gross proceeds of CDN$6,000,009.90 (the "Offering"). Each Unit is comprised of one Common Share of Miramont and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of CDN$0.45 until November 14, 2019. The Company paid a total of $207,037.74 cash in agents' commissions and finder's fees and issued 673,827 agents' and finder's warrants. Each such warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Common Share at a price of $0.30 until November 14, 2019. In accordance with applicable securities laws, all securities issued under the Offering are subject to a four month hold period expiring March 15, 2018. After giving effect to the acquisition of Puno Gold and the Offering, the Company now has 50,098,297 Common Shares issued and outstanding. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used to fund exploration on the Peruvian properties held by Puno Gold, which Miramont acquired pursuant to the Transaction, and for general working capital. Additional information concerning the transaction and the Offering will be available from the Company's information filed on SEDAR. New Board and Management After completing the Transaction, Dr. Quinton Hennigh, PhD, P.Geo, a director of Puno Gold, was appointed to the board of directors of Miramont and has agreed to serve as Chairman of the board. Dr. Hennigh is an economic geologist with more than 25 years of experience with major gold mining firms including Homestake Mining, Newcrest Mining and Newmont Mining. Dr. Hennigh currently acts as President and a director of Novo Resources Corp. The board of directors of the Company is now comprised of William Pincus, Tyson King, Quinton Hennigh, Gerald Shields and Gordon King. The management team is led by William Pincus as President and Chief Executive Officer, Tyson King as Vice President, Lesia Burianyk as Chief Financial Officer and Leah Hodges, who has resigned as a director but will continue to serve as Corporate Secretary. Resumption of Trading The Canadian Securities Exchange (the "Exchange") previously granted conditional approval of the listing of Miramont's Common Shares following the Transaction, subject to receipt of final submission documents. Pending satisfactory review of such final documents by the Exchange, it is expected that Miramont's Common Shares will resume trading on the Exchange, once the Exchange's conditions for final listing are satisfied and the Exchange has issued its final bulletin. The Company intends to issue a final news release once the Exchange bulletin is issued, announcing the anticipated date of resumption of trading. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Nov. 15, 2017) - Medgold Resources Corp. (TSX VENTURE:MED) (the "Company" or "Medgold") is pleased to announce a composite channel sample interval at Barje of 52 metres at 2.20 g/t Au and 88 g/t Ag, (or a gold-equivalent grade of 3.38 ppm using 75:1 Ag to Au price ratio), from a recently re-opened historical Pb-Zn exploration adit, located in the centre of the main Barje occurrence. The assay results from the adit, which is driven into the Barje outcrop perpendicular to the surface (see previous results news releases of January 9th and July 18th, 2017), demonstrate that mineralization is not limited to the outcrop plane but extends into the hillside in the third dimension. Dan James, President of Medgold, commented: "This is an excellent result and we are very excited by the potential the adit indicates. Similar to the surface sampling, we're seeing strong consistency in the elevated gold-silver grades, with all samples yielding anomalous values. Our confidence is building in our geological model, which we have been able to test having entered, mapped and sampled the adit, and we can now consistently demonstrate anomalous gold-silver values in all three directions at Barje. Our adit sample is of lower grade, when compared to the earlier surface channels, 2 g/t Au versus 5 g/t Au, and may point towards the surface sampling itself being a high-grade feeder zone, or is reflective that much of the adit follows north-trending 'gougey' structures which may be less mineralized than the surrounding rock. Exploration at Tlamino is progressing steadily, despite a delay in the issuance of a land access permit, and we're aiming for a Q2 2018 start to our planned first-pass of diamond drilling. Barje is proving to be an exciting exploration story, with the identification of three-dimensional gold-silver mineralization and a large geophysical anomaly, and we are excited by the possibilities that Barje presents." The Barje Prospect The adit at Barje was excavated by a Yugoslav state company in the 1950s as part of their regional exploration for Pb-Zn mineralization. From the 1950s to the 1970s, at least two phases of diamond drilling at the nearby Liska prospect (located 1.5 km to the southwest of Barje) were completed, as well as several exploratory adits at both Barje and Liska. The entire surface of the exposed outcrop was channel sampled by Medgold, with results reported in news releases of January 9th and July 18th, 2017. The adit sampling consisted of contiguous diamond saw-cut channel samples of 1 metre length and approximately 3-5 kg per sample. A total of 298 samples were collected, which includes 41 Quality Assurance samples (blanks, standards and field duplicate). To properly sample a short interval of collapsed material in the adit, the channels were split into three intervals, each contiguous with the others, with the result that the adit was sampled from start to end. The composited grade of the adit was 2.20 g/t Au and 88 g/t Ag, with 36 out of 52 samples assaying greater than 1 g/t Au, a minimum grade of 0.49 g/t Au, and a maximum grade of 25.3 g/t Au. A summary of results is given in the following table: Hole From (m) To (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) AuEq* (ppm) Pb (%) Zn (%) CH_BAR_12 0.00 27.00 2.50 92.5 3.73 0.3 0.75 CH_BAR_13 27.00 29.00 0.70 41.6 1.25 0.06 0.43 CH_BAR_14 29.00 52.00 1.98 87.2 3.14 0.19 0.4 Total 52.00 2.20 88.2 3.37 0.24 0.58 *AuEq is calculated from Au & Ag using a price ratio of 75:1 The first two phases of sampling covered the entire face of exposed outcrop, and included a channel running east-west across the outcrop of 84 m at 5.60 g/t Au and 105.2 g/t Ag. The adit sampling reported here is perpendicular to this east-west channel, driven into the hillside, and could represent the up-dip continuation of the mineralization. The adit results support Medgold's current geological model for Barje, in which shallowly south-dipping stratabound mineralization lies in a north-northeast axis, associated with a regional detachment fault (see www.medgoldresources.com/projects/tlamino for figures and more detailed discussion). These results will assist Medgold in planning a program of diamond drilling, which will be fully-funded by Medgold's strategic partner, Fortuna Silver Mines, and is due to commence in Q2 2018. The mineral deposit model for the project continues to be that of intermediate sulphidation epithermal, as suggested by Medgold's Technical Advisor, Dr. Richard Sillitoe, in September 2016. The principal control upon the mineralization is considered to be the low-angle detachment fault, generated following the uplift of the nearby Crnook Dome, and subsequent extensional faulting in the surrounding country rock. The faulting has created a significant thickness of tectonic breccia which has been favoured by a mineralizing fluid due to its high permeability. The planned program of drilling will target both the up-dip continuity of the mineralization to the northeast from the Barje outcrop, as well as its along-strike continuity to the west. This latter target has been highlighted by a significant IP-chargeability anomaly extending from the Barje outcrop 1 km to the west and 400 m to the north. Given the favourable geological conditions for the mineralization and the significant IP anomaly, the project is demonstrating significant exploration upside. About Medgold Medgold is a European-focused, TSX-V listed, exploration and development company targeting gold properties in Serbia. Run by a highly experienced management team with a successful track record of building value in resource companies, Medgold is aiming to become a leading European gold exploration company. About Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. Fortuna is a growth oriented, precious metal producer with its primary assets being the Caylloma silver mine in southern Peru, the San Jose silver-gold mine in Mexico and the Lindero gold Project in Argentina. The company is selectively pursuing acquisition opportunities throughout the Americas and in select other areas. For more information, please visit its website at www.fortunasilver.com. Qualified Person Mr. David Clark, M.Sc., P.Geo., is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Clark prepared the technical information contained in this news release and has approved its disclosure. Quality Assurance and Quality Control Medgold follows industry best practices for its prospecting and geochemical sampling campaigns. Samples are delivered by Medgold personnel directly to the assay laboratory facilities in Bor, Serbia. Rock samples are analysed by ALS Chemex using analytical method codes Au-ICP21 and ME-MS61, with overlimits for gold and silver analysed by GRA21, and for Ag, Pb, and Zn by OG62. Medgold routinely inserts appropriate multi-element geochemical standards and blanks into its rock chip sample stream, and inserts regular field duplicate samples into the sample stream. Boca Raton, FL, USA, 11/15/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/ Boca car accident attorney, Joe Osborne, understands that getting into a car crash is difficult enough without having to deal with a driver who is uncooperative. However, there are things you can do if the other driver involved in your auto accident refuses to share his or her proof of insurance. But first, its important to understand why they may not want to provide the information. Reasons for Not Providing Insurance Information There are a number of reasons why a driver might refuse to provide insurance information after an accident including: He or she doesnt have insurance He or she is driving a car belonging to someone else without permission He or she is driving a stolen car He or she is under the influence of drugs or alcohol He or she has a suspended license He or she has already had multiple accidents He or she is trying to avoid higher insurance premiums Failing to provide insurance information can cause significant repercussions if the driver refuses because he or she doesnt have the required coverage. There are usually substantial fines and there may be a suspension of his or her drivers license. Additionally, criminal charges will likely be imposed if the driver doesnt want to provide information because he or she was driving while intoxicated. What You Can Do If the Other Driver Wont Exchange Information There are some things that you can do when the other driver will not share insurance information. Demanding it, or becoming angry yourself, isnt a good idea. If the other driver doesnt want to provide it for some nefarious reason, its best to do what you can safely, and then let authorities, insurance companies, and an auto accident attorney handle the rest. Here are some options to consider: Call the police This is what you need to do anyway if the damages appear to be more extensive than $500 in Florida. It may also encourage the other driver to provide insurance information to you as well. Record identification details Take note of the make and model of the other drivers car, license plate number, and distinguishing features of the car to provide to police. Let your insurance company know Insurance information is public, so your insurance company will be able to find the other drivers records with just the license plate number. Call an attorney This is something that you should do for any car accident. An experienced car accident attorney will be able to help you track down the other driver, and help you proceed with your claim. Get Help from a Florida Car Accident Attorney If you or a loved one has been in a car accident, contact https://www.oa-lawfirm.com/ the leading car accident attorney in Florida, Joe Osborne today at (561) 293-2600, for help with your claim. Follow Attorney Joe Osborn on Facebook for more information Social Media Tags:Insurance Information After Car Accident, Florida Car Accident Lawyer, Boca Raton auto accident attorney Newsroom powered by Online Press Release Distribution SubmitMyPressRelease.com Like Us on Facebook It's only fair to share... Pinterest Linkedin email Print 15K Shares Share Five years ago today I was at a memorial. Another suicide. Our third doctor in 18 months. Everyone kept whispering, Why? I was determined to find out. So I started counting dead doctors. I left the service with a list of 10. Now I have 547. Immediately, I began writing and speaking about suicide. So many distressed doctors (and med students) wrote and phoned me. Soon I was running a de facto international suicide hotline from my home. To date, Ive spoken to thousands of suicidal doctors; published a book of their suicide letters (free audiobook); attended more funerals; interviewed surviving physicians, families, and friends. Ive spent nearly every waking moment over the past five years on a personal quest for the truth of Why. Here are 34 things Ive discovered: High doctor suicide rates have been reported since 1858. Yet more than 150 years later the root causes of these suicides remain unaddressed. Physician suicide is a public health crisis. One million Americans lose their doctors to suicide each year. Most doctors have lost a colleague to suicide. Some have lost up to eight during their careerwith no opportunity to grieve. We lose way more men than women. For every woman who dies by suicide in medicine, we lose seven men. Suicide methods vary by region and gender. Women like to overdose and men choose firearms. Gunshot wounds prevail out West. Jumping is popular in New York City. In India, doctors are found hanging from ceiling fans. Male anesthesiologists are at highest risk. Most die by overdose. Many are found dead in hospital call rooms. Lots of doctors die in hospitals. Doctors jump from hospital windows or rooftops. They shoot or stab themselves in hospital parking lots. Theyre found hanging in hospital chapels. Physicians often choose to die where theyve been wounded. Happy doctors die by suicide. Many doctors who die by suicide are the happiest most well-adjusted people on the outside. Just back from Disneyland, just bought tickets for a family cruise, just gave a thumbs up to the team after a successful surgeryand hours later they shoot themselves in the head. Doctors are masters of disguise. Even fun-loving, happy docs who crack jokes and make patients smile all day may be suffering in silence. We are all at risk. Doctors family members are at high risk of suicide. By the same method. Cardiothoracic surgeon Thomas Gahagan died by hanging himself leaving behind seven children ages three to fifteen. Two died by hanging themselves as adults. Another physician died using the same gun his son used to kill himself. Kaitlyn Elkins, a star third-year medical student, chose suicide by helium inhalation. One year later her mother Rhonda died by the same method. At Rhondas funeral, I asked her husband if he thought his wife and daughter would still be alive had Kaitlyn not pursued medicine. He replied, Yes. Medical school has killed half my family. Doctors have personal problemslike everyone else. We get divorced, have custody battles, infidelity, disabled children, deaths in our families. Working 100+ hours per week immersed in our patients pain, weve got no time to deal with our own pain. (Spending so much time at work actually leads to divorce and completely dysfunctional personal lives). Patient deaths hurt doctors. A lot. Even when theres no medical error, doctors may never forgive themselves for losing a patient. Suicide is the ultimate self-punishment. Malpractice suits kill doctors. Humans make mistakes. Yet when doctors make mistakes, theyre publicly shamed in court on TV, and in newspapers (that live online forever). We continue to suffer the agony of harming someone elseunintentionallyfor the rest of our lives. Doctors who do illegal things kill themselves. Medicare fraud, sex with a patient, DUIs may lead to loss of medical license, prison time, and suicide. Academic distress kills medical students dreams. Failing boards exams and being unmatched into a specialty of choice has led to suicides. Doctors without residencies may die by suicide. Dr. Robert Chu, unmatched to residency, wrote a letter to medical officials and government leaders calling out the flawed system that undermined his career prior to his suicide. Assembly-line medicine kills doctors. Brilliant, compassionate people cant care for complex patients in 10-minute slots. When punished or fired for inefficiency or low productivity doctors may choose suicide. Pressure from insurance companies and government mandates further crush the souls of these talented people who just want to help their patients. Many doctors cite inhumane working conditions in their suicide notes. Bullying, hazing, and sleep deprivation increase suicide risk. Medical training is rampant with human rights violations illegal in all other industries. Sleep deprivation is a (deadly) torture technique. Physicians have suffered hallucinations, life-threatening seizures, depression, and suicide solely related to sleep deprivation. Resident physicians are now capped at 28-hour shifts and 80-hour weeks. If they violate work hours (by caring for patients) they are forced to lie on their time cards or be written up as inefficient and sent to a psychiatrist for stimulant medications. Some doctors kill themselves for fear of harming a patient from extreme sleep deprivation. Blaming doctors increases suicides. Words like burnout and resilience are often employed by medical institutions as psychological warfare to blame and shame doctors while deflecting attention from inhumane working conditions. When doctors are punished for occupationally induced mental health conditions (while underlying human rights violations are not addressed), they become even more hopeless and desperate. Sweet, sensitive souls are at highest risk. Some of the most caring, compassionate, and intelligent doctors choose suicide rather than continuing to work in such callous, uncaring and ruthlessly greedy medical corporations. Doctors cant get confidential mental health care. So they drive out of town, pay cash, and use fake names to hide from state medical boards, hospitals, and insurance plans that ask doctors about their mental health care and may then exclude them from state licensure, hospital privileges, and health plan participation. (Even if confidential care were available, physicians have little time to access care when working 80-100+ hours per week). Doctors have trouble caring for doctors. Doctors treat physician patients differently by downplaying psychiatric issues to protect physicians from medical board mental health investigations. Untreated mental health conditions may lead to suicide. Medical board investigations increase suicide risk. One doctor hanged himself from a tree outside the Florida medical board office after being denied his license. He was told to come back in a year, and we will reinstate your license. Meanwhile, he lost everything and was living in a halfway house. Physician Health Programs (PHPs) may increase suicide risk. Forcing doctors with occupationally induced mental health issues into these 12-step programs with witnessed random urine drug screens (when theyve never had a drug problem!) is humiliating and unethical. So doctors hide their mental health conditions for fear of being punished by PHPs. [Note: PHPs have helped some doctors with substance abuse especially] Substance abuse is a late-stage effect of lack of mental health care. Since doctors may lose their license for seeking mental health care or get locked into PHPs; they self-medicate with alcohol, illicit drugs, or self-prescribe psychotropic medications. Doctors develop on-the-job PTSD. Especially true in emergency medicine. Then one day they snap like this guy. Cultural taboos reinforce secrecy. Suicide is a sin in many religions. Islam and Christian families have asked that I hide the suicides of family members. Indian families often claim a suicide is a homicide or an accident, even when its obviously self-inflicted. Media offers incomplete coverage of suspicious deaths. Articles about doctors found dead in hospital call rooms claim no foul play. No follow-up stories. Medical schools and hospitals lie (or omit the truth) to cover up suicideseven when media and family report cause of death. Medical student Ari Frosch stood in front of a train, yet his school reported he died at home with his family. Though the family of psychiatrist Christine Petrich shared that she bought a gun and killed herself (after just getting her hair done and planning a surprise trip to Lego Land and Disney for her kids) on their GoFundMe page, her employer wrote she passed away. Shouldnt the department of psychiatry take a more active interest in physician suicide? Euphemisms cover up doctor suicides. Suicide is omitted from obituaries, funerals, clinics, hospitals, and medical schools. Instead, we hear passed away unexpectedly in her sleep and he went to be with the Lord. Secrets will not save us. Were unlikely to make a medical breakthrough on a hidden medical condition. Doctors choose suicide to end their pain (not because they want to die). Suicide is preventable. We can help doctors who are suffering if we stop with all the secrecy and punishment. Ive been shunned for speaking about doctor suicide. After being invited by the AMA to deliver my TEDMED talk, I was disinvited shortly before the event because they were uncomfortable with physician suicide. Ignoring doctor suicides leads to more doctor suicides. Thankfully, an Emmy-winning filmmaker is completing a documentary on physician suicide this month. To honor a doctor or medical student who has died by suicide in the film, submit their name and specialty here. Pamela Wible pioneered the community-designed ideal medical clinic and blogs at Ideal Medical Care. She is the author of Physician Suicide Letters Answered and Pet Goats and Pap Smears. Watch her TEDx talk, How to Get Naked with Your Doctor. She hosts the physician retreat, Live Your Dream, to help her colleagues heal from grief and reclaim their lives and careers. Image credit: Pamela Wible 202 Shares Share Earlier this week, one of the residents and I saw a new patient who apparently had been sent in to see us for a pre-op visit, an evaluation to make sure that her medical conditions were well controlled and that the surgery was safe for the surgeons to proceed with. She reported that she forgot the paperwork they gave her. All she knew was that whatever we wrote had to clearly state medically cleared for surgery. Unfortunately, she also did not know much (if anything) about her own medical history, nor did she know when the surgery was, by whom, or even on what body part. Makes it kind of hard to clear someone or do an effective preoperative evaluation. (And I cannot tell you how much I hate that word clear. All we can do is guide, we cannot predict the future.) The pre-op visit has long been one of the bread-and-butter types of visits for internal medicine physicians, and many in practice love seeing them. A patient they know well getting cleared for a minor procedure allows them to quickly get through a visit and bill for a consultation with only a modicum of extra effort. We all have our standard questions that we ask for preoperative evaluation, exercise tolerance, easy bleeding or bruising, an accurate medication list, allergies, prior complications from surgery or anesthesia, and so on. Then a quick in-office EKG or chest X-ray if requested by the surgeon or mandated by their medical conditions, some labs, a quick consult note, and youre done. But as often happens with our patient, either we dont know enough about them to figure out whether the surgery is safe, or they dont know enough about the surgery for us to tell them whether the surgery is safe. Having a surgeon ask you the right questions is better than filling out all the forms in the world. Tells us what the surgery entails, and why you think this might impart risk to the patient. What anesthesia is planned (most often left off information on their requests)? What are you as the surgeon worried about? We also get pre-op clearance visits that seem sublime bordering on the ridiculous. A healthy person without any medical conditions sent in for a pre-op medical clearance prior to bunion surgery. Or a colonoscopy. Or a biopsy. Or an injection. Or a dental cleaning. As long as were redesigning the healthcare system, perhaps we can figure better ways to streamline this process, make it more efficient and more effective, more patient-centered. For years, ophthalmology has been sending us patients by the dozens every month for medical clearance prior to cataract surgery. When I started out working here, such a long time ago, the preoperative evaluation included a CBC, metabolic profile, PT, PTT, EKG, and even a chest x-ray. Over the years, as the literature on the utility (or lack thereof) of preoperative lab and other testing in the setting of various types of surgery has grown, our colleagues in ophthalmology have grown more sophisticated in their requests, paring down the need for these extraneous evaluations. Indeed, most studies have shown that even when abnormalities were detected on preoperative testing, very little was done to act on them, and most had very little or no effect on the patients risk of outcome from the procedures undertaken. A few years ago, we started getting notes from referring doctors that said something along the lines of preoperative testing as felt appropriate by the medical consultant, leaving it up to us to decide what the patient might need done. Contrast this to the old days, where patients wouldnt even be allowed into the procedure suite without that EKG, chest x-ray, labs, and a signed note of medical clearance. Let me tell you about two my favorite medical clearance cases. One involved an elderly gentleman we cared for with advanced heart failure, his ejection fraction so low that if he skipped a dose of his medications he pretty quickly went into florid heart failure and often ended up in the CCU. He was unable to lie flat since his condition had developed, and he long ago had resorted to sleeping sitting upright in a recliner chair at home. When we arranged for his medical clearance for his cataract surgery, we included, in large letters, highlighted on the form, circled and underlined, that he could not be placed below an angle of 45, since this would likely result in very bad things happening, such as intubation and intravenous diuretics. Ill never forget the day of his procedure, when they called me from the operative suite, demanding to know why we had cleared him for surgery and why he would not let them push him down flat on the table. He later recounted to me that they had two OR techs pushing on him, trying to get him to lie flat, and all he kept screaming was Call Dr. Pelzman! Later we discovered that no one actually looked at the pre-op paperwork that we faxed to their office, which they had demanded be received before they would even set up a surgery date. Contrast this with another preoperative evaluation I did for an elderly patient of mine who required semi-urgent surgery, and I evaluated him in the emergency room with the surgeon. We all talked about how the surgery was absolutely necessary, and that he was at high risk, and the surgeon looked at me and said How about pre-op beta blocker, to which I replied, Sounds right to me, and that was it. Off to the OR he went. Our colleagues here in ophthalmology have been at the forefront of trying to simplify this process and, working with internists, have developed a new set of criteria that allow them to decide who needs a pre-op clearance, who just needs an A-OK from the doctor and who needs a more formal appointment for more intensive evaluation. Using the functionality of our electronic medical record, where we can all see what a patients medical problems are, a template of standardized questions will allow the staff at ophthalmology to decide who needs what, thereby preventing a lot of excess healthcare resource utilization and inconvenience for patients. As we continue to build this process out and expand it beyond cataract surgery, we should start to use the electronic health record as a shared knowledge base, a place where we can communicate about the patient and make medical decisions based on the best evidence and what makes the most sense to get our patients the care they need in a timely fashion. Gone should be the days where a surgeon sends us a form to fill out that has information that they can completely collect on their own, or that is visible within the same electronic health record. Ask us the right questions, and we will be happy to offer guidance. For the most part, these could be handled in a smooth, seamless, and professional way by doctors working together to take the best care of our patients. Never again should we have to handwrite a patients medication list from our electronic health record onto a paper form that someones going fax and then scan back into the same electronic medical record, and then never look at again. Clear? Fred N. Pelzman is an associate professor of medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital and associate director, Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates, New York City, NY. He blogs at MedPage Todays Building the Patient-Centered Medical Home. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 43K Shares Share I love my doctors. I have an undiagnosable autoimmune disease. Its mostly manageable, my lab work is perfect, and I rarely get sick. I get allergy shots and take blood pressure medication. I always have at least low level, mostly familiar, physical symptoms. Occasionally a new one appears. Sometimes it is scary. I could have sued any or all of my doctors over the last decade-plus. I could be livin large. They havent figured out what is wrong with me. They made mistakes, which sometimes caused symptoms and certainly did not resolve my issues. It took several years to get me stabilized. So why do I love my doctors? Why wouldnt I sue them? I could see that they were trying to help me. They told me that they were trying to help me. They coordinated with each other. They comforted me when I was distraught. They looked at my issues, flexibly, from all different angles. They consulted with other colleagues. They persisted. They never gave up. They cared. They have made my life livable. I needed them, and I still do. I am so grateful to them. This point of view is missing from the national conversation about health care. I interviewed 50 doctors for my book, and they told me all about it. Their compassion and dedication flow out of the pages. Yet, that doesnt seem to matter or be heard. As one of them said, No one cares about the doctors. Those of us who went to college remember the pre-med students. They were the ones who studied all the time. They took multiple difficult science courses, some of which were make or break, requiring an A to stay competitive. As one of my interviewees said, Most people arent committed at such a young age. Its not like this magically changes after they complete medical school and residency. One telling interview item from my book was, Please tell me about a typical day or week for you. This produced astounding responses. The typical day for one doctor involved rounds at the hospital, seeing patients in the office, doing chores, making phone calls, checking messages and lab results, family calls, other doctor calls, then back to the hospital. One doctor told me Its 24/7. Another one stated, Its not really a job. Its your life. And another said, You give up and miss out on a lot. The pressure to perform and to be correct 100 percent of the time is beyond belief. I know that I couldnt withstand it. This society accepts no mistakes. Its the only job where you cannot make a mistake, said one doctor. You are responsible for things that you cannot control., said another. And when I inquired about lawsuits, those of my interviewees who had them stated that although they emerged unscathed professionally, the stress was horrible or one felt violated. As a result, Younger doctors are experts in defensive medicine, rather than the real issues. While many of us are still under the impression that all doctors are rich, my interviewees reported declining salaries, trouble keeping their doors open, and of course, the overbearing presence of massive debt accrued from attending medical school. How is any of this right? Does this make sense? Its some combination of the terrible twos and adolescence. We are supposed to be a society of adults, who know that we are not the center of the universe, that sometimes we have to wait and be patient, and that we need see the perspectives of others. This is all part of normal development. Instead, we want what we want, and we want it now. And we want it to be perfect. When we dont get it, we rebel and lash out. Sound familiar? This attitude applies to health care. So, look at it this way: one of the most important aspects of the health care crisis is that we have an ever-increasing doctor shortage. They are being driven out of practice. This is partially due to our developmental immaturity. Is this what we want? I know that I dont want it. How can we expect people to sacrifice and then work under the pressure that our doctors are working? And to top it off, to be ever caring and competent. Research shows that emotions, stress, pressure, mistreatment, disappointment, futilitycall it what you willall impact problem solving, critical thinking and performance. Should our doctors be expected to be superhuman in this regard as well? What do my doctors need besides training and clinical competence to help with my uncharted disease? In fact, what do doctors need to help any of us with anything? Well, they need to be able to think. Who could think under current circumstances? But we expect that, and in my opinion, we typically get it. We all need to stop pretending that it doesnt matter how we treat our doctors. As one of my interviewees said, We are used as pawns in the system. No one cares about the doctors. We, the patients, are the ones who pay the price for this callousness. There was a social pact in place, said one interviewee. We provided care, and we had a comfortable life. That pact was broken. The deal was broken. So now there is a new generation with a new attitude: We will provide care when we want to provide care. 9 to 5 and no weekends. If this isnt what we want, we need to rethink how we treat our doctors and start caring about them again. We need to think and behave like adults and do what is best for all of us, including our doctors. This needs to be part of the national conversation about health care. Our lives depend on it. Peggy A. Rothbaum is a psychologist and can be reached at her self-titled site, Dr. Peggy Rothbaum. She is the author of I Have Been Talking with Your Doctor: Fifty doctors talk about the healthcare crisis and the doctor-patient relationship. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 247 Shares Share The Office of the Surgeon General existed since 1871 when Dr. John Woodworth was appointed the first supervising surgeon of the national hospital system. In the previous year, the Marine Hospital was reorganized into the national hospital system. On January 4, 1889, Congress formally recognized the new personnel system as the Commissioned Corps. The Corps was established along military lines and initially consisted of only physicians. They were mobilized wherever their services were needed. Before the year 1968, the surgeon general was head of the Public Health Service (PHS). In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson delegated responsibility of the PHS to Assistant Secretary of Health and abolished the Office of the Surgeon General. The position of the surgeon general became that of a principal deputy of the Assistant Secretary of Health and was responsible for being an advisor on medical matters. In 1987, the Office of the Surgeon General was reestablished as a staff office within the office of the Assistant Secretary of Health. Initially, Dr. John Woodworth was tasked with repairing the Marine Hospital Service, which was in a state of disrepair and greatly over-crowded. He was able to quickly lift the hospital from this decrepit condition and, with others, formed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The office also took part in addressing social conditions that impacted health, especially before World War I. President William Taft appointed Rupert Blue to the office who concerned himself with the fact that workers did not earn enough to eat healthily. As the war intensified, he turned his focus to care for wounded veterans and then the Spanish flu when it hit. Another surgeon general, Hugh S. Cummings, concerned himself with the dangers of cigarette smoking and leaded gasoline. Perhaps one of the best known surgeon generals was C. Everett Koop. He served two terms under Ronald Reagan and during the onslaught of the AIDs epidemic. Because his superiors feared AIDs would turn into the biggest public health catastrophe of the 20th century, he was forced to work in silence. It was not until 1986 that he was allowed to issue a surgeon generals statement on AIDS and in 1988, a congressional-mandated educational brochure on the disease was mailed to every house in the U.S. Koop stated, If ever there was a disease made for a surgeon general, it was AIDS. The role of the Office of the Surgeon General evolved greatly over time. It is an office appointed by the president of the U.S., and the appointee serves a four-year term. Currently, it is an office in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The expectation of the surgeon general is that he/she will provide the best evidence-based information currently available on improving health and to reducing the risk of illness and injury. The surgeon general is always a doctor and is also tasked with being the spokesperson for the U.S. government on all health-related issues. Additionally, he/she advises the president and the secretary of health and human services on all public health manners. Finally, the surgeon general serves on several boards and weighs in on health policy and national initiatives. What should the new surgeon generals top priorities be? In the first week of August 2017, Dr. Jerome Adams was confirmed as surgeon general as nominated by President Donald Trump. By training, Dr. Adams is an anesthesiologist who also served as the Indiana state health commissioner. He pledged to tackle the U.S.s opioid epidemic stating, The addictive properties of prescription opioids is a scourge in America, and it must be stopped. As the doctor of the U.S., as the office has been called for decades, physicians have strong opinions about what issues the surgeon general should tackle. In a recent poll conducted by PlatformQ Health, a leading provider of live online CME, approximately 45 percent of health care providers felt that the surgeon generals top priority should be resourcing addiction recovery and mental health. Resourcing addiction recovery and mental health In the U.S. currently, more than 6 out of 10 drug overdose deaths involve an opioid. In fact, 91 Americans die every single day as a result of opioids (including both prescription medication and heroin). The CDC concluded that the increased number of opioid-related deaths over the past 15 years is driven by prescriptions for opioid medications. In a New York Times data analysis, drug overdose deaths rose 19 percent from 2015 through 2016. Preliminary analysis shows that rate is expected to jump even higher in 2017. Previous Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a landmark study addressing drug and alcohol addiction, the first time in U.S. history. In his 400-page report, he concluded that 20.8 million Americans suffer a substance use disorder. However, only 10 percent of these people receive any treatment. Substance use disorders represent one of the most pressing public health crises of our time, the report (by Murthy) says. For far too long, too many in our country have viewed addiction as a moral failing. This unfortunate stigma has created an added burden of shame that has made people with substance use disorders less likely to come forward and seek help. Championing evidence-based patient education and fighting fake medical news Approximately 20 percent of respondents in the PQ Health poll feel the top priority should be fighting fake medical news and providing evidence-based patient information. Presently, more patients are looking to the internet and social media to find medical information. Many of these sites are just gimmicks to sell products or push a certain agenda. There is no regulation over who gives medical information, and it does not have to prove to be evidence-based. Clearly, some standards need to be set to ensure patients are accessing the most up-to-date and accurate health information. Promoting antibiotic stewardship Approximately 18 percent of respondents felt promoting antibiotics should be a top priority of the Office of the Surgeon General. The CDC reported that every year in the U.S., approximately 2 million people become infected with a bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics. More than 23,000 people will die of these infections. Still, others die from conditions that were complicated by antibiotic-resistant infections. Most experts attribute the rise of antibiotic resistance to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics. The increase of antibiotic resistance is not just in the U.S. but a global phenomenon that is threatening our ability to fight bacterial infections. The use of antibiotics first started in 1928 with the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming. Millions of lives have been saved through their use since that time. Unfortunately, we have seen antibiotic resistance to nearly every known antibiotic. In fact, Fleming first raised the warning about the overuse of antibiotics in 1945. Antibiotics are now a limited resource, there are currently fewer effective antibiotics available for certain health-care-associated infections than in the previous decade, and the threat of antibiotic resistance is real. -Boris D. Lushniak, MD, MPH RADM, U.S. Public Health Service Acting Surgeon General Reemphasizing vaccinations Approximately 17 percent of the poll respondents felt that reemphasizing vaccines should be the top priority. In our society, we have seen the effects of the anti-vaxxer propaganda and how spreading myths/fake news can result in harm when children dont receive the vaccines they need. Our previous Surgeon General Murthy placed significant emphasis on preventing diseases and greatly encouraged people to receive vaccines. In fact, he met with Sesame Street icon Elmo in March 2015 and filmed a public safety announcement on the safety and efficacy of vaccines. He stated the internet was a tool that, while good at amplifying good information, also amplifies unsound information as well, making it particularly challenging. Of course, this issue is directly in line with championing evidence-based patient education and fighting fake medical news. The U.S., as well as the rest of the world, is now facing public health concerns that we have never faced before. We now have technology that disseminates information quickly and vastly. We now have the ability to reach around the globe to help others. Contrarily, inaccurate information can be a plague to the health of others. The surgeon general is in a unique position to advise leaders and public alike about the most pressing health issues of our times. While one may have an opinion as to which is the most threatening, perhaps they are all equally important, and national strategies need to be in place to address each area over the long term. Linda Girgis is a family physician who blogs at Dr. Linda. Image credit: Shutterstock.com 605 Shares Share I have no business background: zero, zilch, nada. Growing up, I was the kid who bought the lemonade, not the one who set up shop on the busy street corner. My parents bought the cookie dough, coupon book and every other school fundraiser from the kid next door instead of their own child. Job interviews? Never had them. All the jobs Ive ever had I got because I knew the boss, usually my own father. Ive had one job I went out and got on my own, though Id like to erase it from memory. Scrubbing toilets at 3 a.m. during the months leading up to medical school is hardly a resume builder. While my wife and friends studied accounting and business in college, I spent my time studying Spanish translation and taking medical school prerequisite courses. I didnt need that business stuff; I was going to be a doctor. My story isnt all too uncommon among my medical school peers. Were budding physicians with goals to end human suffering and training to diagnose and treat disease. Business? Leave that to the MBAs and CEOs. Medical schools have taken a similar approach. We scratch the surface on the topics of medical billing and coding with absolutely no mention of how to run a business. Youre going to be a doctor, focus on the medicine. Before medical school, I contacted a family friend and physician looking for advice. I hoped to receive validation for my thoughts about medicine and inside information about how to achieve my goals. My inquiry, however, was met with frustration and pessimism toward the profession, with a plea to turn around and get out now. I wrote it off as one poor soul who had become jaded through their own unique experiences. This wasnt how the majority felt, I told myself. Over the last five years, Ive come to know that my friend was not alone. Spend time perusing online physician blogs or in the doctors lounge at your local hospital, and youll find that many are just as frustrated with the current state of medicine. Youll come to realize that this frustration is not with the science of medicine but with the business of it. The one thing weve ignored for so long has become the major obstacle to the only thing weve ever wanted to do. This frustration plays the central role in a current epidemic: burnout. Physicians and medical students alike are losing the passion they once had for medicine. While some stay within medicine and labor through unhappy careers, others have left the profession altogether. Tragically, some are affected so heavily that they resort to taking their own lives. In the end, physicians and patients suffer. Research is being done across the country to investigate solutions to the burnout phenomenon with two major camps of thought. The first focuses on the well-being of the physician. Yoga, meditation, nutrition, and stress management have been proposed as self-strengthening solutions. The second focuses more externally, on the administrative burden imposed on physicians. Resolutions from this camp include decreasing physician work hours and stresses associated with cumbersome EMRs. Some of these resolutions have shown reductions in reported burnout, and many are worthwhile interventions. Unfortunately, we have continued to ignore the root cause of the frustration: the lack of physician autonomy in the business of medicine. Taking up yoga or merely reducing the number of work hours to combat burnout is like washing down a statin with a double-bacon cheeseburger: it will do little if any long-term good. Truly overcoming physician burnout requires a disruption within the structure, not merely attempts to innovate a broken system. This starts with including an emphasis on the one thing that has been absent for so long: business education. Want physicians to lead happy and long careers the way theyve always envisioned? Teach them how to run a business (and I dont mean how to manipulate a note to maximize reimbursement). The costs of obtaining a medical education, both financial and emotional, are too steep to allow others to call the shots. You may be thinking, why listen to a student who admittedly has no business background speak about the importance of business education? Is that any different than being told how to practice medicine from someone with no medical experience? In recent years, Ive come to know and work with a group of doctors who are challenging the status quo by taking back the reins of business autonomy. This group of pioneering physicians inspires me with their enthusiasm and optimism for the future amidst so much pessimism. Their positive outlook stems from the fact that they practice medicine how they always dreamed, doing so by creatively disrupting the business of medicine. In so doing, theyve returned the focus of their practice to their patients: the way it shouldve been all along. Sitting here, staring at my medical school debt is daunting. Like many others, its tempting to follow the status quo and chase the stability of guaranteed income. My professional goals, however, wont allow me to sit on the sidelines and let others call the shots. Learning about business is my way out. My nightstand is now littered with business and finance related books things like The Icarus Deception, Great by Choice, Start With Why and The White Coat Investor. I talk to anyone I can about the business of medicine, much to the chagrin of my wife and unsuspecting dinner guests. Wanting to inspire others to take back their autonomy, I set out and started an organization with two local doctors. Weve traveled locally throughout the state speaking to medical students, residents and practicing physicians about creative business models of health care delivery and the professional freedom they offer. We aim to empower the future generation of physicians not to settle for the status quo but to take back control of their medical practice. We may be small, but were combating burnout with business. Trevin Cardon is president, Direct Care West. Image credit: Shutterstock.com CHARLESTON -- Last week Governor Bruce Rauner issued a 45-day Harvest Emergency Season Declaration for the entire state of Illinois. With areas of the state seeing both rainy planting and harvest seasons, it delayed farmers from getting their crops planted and now it is delaying their crops from being harvested. According to the USDA-NASS Illinois Crop Progress & Condition Report, Illinoiss corn crop harvest is 11 percentage points behind its 5-year average as of Oct. 29. What does this all mean for farmers? Since the Governor has declared a Harvest Season Emergency (HSE), farmers are eligible to receive a non-fee HSE overweight permit(s) from the highway jurisdiction on roads you intend to operate on (if your route crosses several road jurisdictions, youll need several permits one for each jurisdiction). State Routes IDOT County Routes County Engineer Road District Routes Highway Commissioner Municipal Streets Street Department This permit is not available for Interstate highways. The declaration states that the emergency harvest exists for the transportation of all agricultural commodities from the field to market or field to storage. This declaration has been made to allow a maximum of 10 percent above the standard weight limit. The 10 percent limit is the maximum a jurisdiction may offer. Any jurisdiction could also issue a permit for an overweight less than 10 percent above the standard limit. Please note that bridge and road postings for lower weights still apply. When operating under a HSE permit, you will need to carry the following documents: The permit (printed or electronic); A copy of form OPER 993; A copy of the Governors Declaration. Illinois Emergency Harvest Permits can be obtained from Nov. 5 through Dec. 19. Please be aware that potential adjustments are pending regarding this declaration. For more information, please contact the Coles County Farm Bureau at 217-345-3276. 242 Shares Share Prescription opioid abuse is one of the United States greatest public health challenges. Approximately 97.5 million Americans consume opioids annually, and around 90 people die every day from opioid overuse. The last time in recent history a health care crisis garnered this much public attention was following the release of the 1964 Surgeon Generals Report on Smoking and Health correlating smoking to heart disease and cancer. Today, we hear stories like a coroner reporting for the second time this year that he has run out of storage space for bodies due to rising opioid overdose deaths. Such stories are shocking to American families and health care professionals. As students interested in medicine and health care issues, we want to delve into the factors that have influenced the opioid crisis and understand the trajectory of this epidemic. Opioids include a family of drugs that mimic our natural neurotransmitters and block pain perception in our central nervous system. Physicians commonly prescribe these drugs to patients experiencing postoperative pain, acute or chronic pain and cancer-related pain. But over the last decade, the clinical efficacy of these drugs have been challenged, and attitudes towards opioid therapy have shifted dramatically. Prolonged opioid administration has led to patients building physical dependency. When consumers chose to abruptly discontinue opioid usage, they experienced severe withdrawal syndrome, characterized by diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, hypertension, and seizures. Ironically, some studies have demonstrated that opioid use can also increase pain sensitivity, a condition called opioid-induced hyperalgesia, ultimately leading to patients seeking even higher dosages or changing opioids. A CNBC report last year showed us that America consumes 80 percent of the global opioid supply and that there has been a 2.8 fold increase in number of opioid-associated death between 2002 and 2015. This accounts for a hefty medical expense of 72.5 billion dollars associated with opioid consumption. The aforementioned data makes us question the stringency of opioid prescriptions and necessitates further analyses of what we believe are the three most important players revolving the opioid crisis: physicians, pharmaceutical companies, and insurance companies. The huge variability in pain perception among the general population makes it understandably difficult to judge when opioid prescriptions are unnecessary. As aspiring physicians ourselves, we value patient-centered care, one where the patients satisfaction is highly prioritized. However, we believe that physicians can, perhaps inadvertently, over-prescribe opioids. Although most of the cases warrant legitimate use of opioids, physicians could turn to non-medicative mediums of pain remediation such as physical therapy. It is possible that a different, more detailed pain-rating system could allow physicians to assess the magnitude of pain and reserve opioids for only the most severe cases. While the addictive potentials of opioids are clear, there is still the question of how we arrived at this crisis. Some argue that it began in 1999, when the Veterans Health Administration launched the Pain as the 5th Vital Sign initiative, which has now made pain as important as the other four vital signs (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, temperature). Thus, medical physicians are now assessing pain in their patients and aggressively treating it for greater patient satisfaction. The most common argument against classifying pain as the fifth vital sign has been that self-reported pain is inherently subjective and can be modulated by several factors. The complexity now lies in the fact that clinicians must respect a patients self-reporting of pain. Nonetheless, we believe that the crisis began further upstream with the pharmaceutical companies who have the ear of the health providers. Certain opioid manufacturers, such as Purdue Pharma, opportunistically capitalized on the issue of pain relief with aggressive advertisement of narcotics. They targeted health professionals with little experience, falsely promoting their time-release design of OxyContin as less addictive than other medications. The ramifications of these deceptive tactics were devastating, because the FDA stepped in and introduced a reformulated version of OxyContin into the market, which although reduced abuse, was linked to increased heroin usage. We are cognizant of the misleading campaigns employed by pharmaceutical companies such as Purdue Pharma and believe that lucid and honest reporting, combined with more stringent oversight by the FDA, will allow for greater understanding of the addiction potential of new drugs. Although physicians and pharmaceutical companies are directly involved in the circulation of prescription opioids, the crisis has also been fueled by insurance companies. By placing drugs like morphine in low-cost brackets, insurance companies have made prescription opioids affordable and accessible. Recently, however, some insurance companies have made efforts to curb the over of pain medication by not providing coverage for certain opioids. While this could be seen as a step in the right direction, it raises the question of whether this is an equitable decision for those in legitimate need of opioid painkillers. We imagine that rather than taking drastic measures like removing certain pain medications for coverage, a stronger synergy between physicians and insurance companies would be a logical move in combating the epidemic. Many insurance companies have implemented novel measures to track patients that are considered to be at high risk, those who are prescribed high doses of opioids. By maintaining close contact with the physicians of these patients, insurance companies can effectively monitor opioid users and prevent opioid overuse. Since opioids are such a vital element of modern medicine, we cannot expect the ban of opioid usage to be a pragmatic solution. With pain being a crucial component of many conditions, it is difficult to discern legitimate usage of opioids from overuse of these drugs. We are convinced that proper collaboration between the three factors is crucial in controlling the usage of opioids. Both physicians and and pharmaceutical companies can also educate patients on the risks associated with consuming opioids. Furthermore, monitoring programs can be promising in tracking opioid users in risk of drug overdose. Although the opioid crisis is only recently receiving the much-needed attention it deserves, we are hopeful that, with the right measures, our health care system will be successful in tackling this epidemic. Sangrag Ganguli and Uche Ezeh are graduate students. Image credit: Shutterstock.com The Guardian reports: Robert Mugabe remains in detention at his home in Zimbabwe more than 12 hours after the military declared on national television that it had temporarily taken control of the country to target criminals around the head of state. The move by the armed forces appears to have resolved a bitter battle to succeed the 93-year-old president, which had pitted his former vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, against Mugabes wife, Grace. Mnangagwa was reported to have returned to Zimbabwe on Tuesday evening from South Africa, where he fled last week after being stripped of his office by Mugabe in an apparent attempt to clear Grace Mugabes path to power. It is hard to think of a worst ruler than Robert Mugabe so this coup may be an improvement. From all accounts his wife would have been even worse, and it was his promotion of her than finally led the Generals to rebel. One high-profile opposition leader said there was a lot of talking going on, with the army reaching out to them to discuss the formation of a transitional government after Mugabe steps down. Negotiations had been ongoing for several months with certain people within the army, a second senior opposition official said. The official said Mugabe would resign this week and be replaced by Mnangagwa, with opposition leaders taking posts as vice-president and prime minister. There was no independent confirmation of his claim. That would be a good thing, if this leads to a government of national unity. Share this: Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp More Pinterest Print Tumblr By Park Jae-hyuk National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon The Korea Times and Hankook Ilbo Chairman Seung Myung-ho Chinese Ambassador to Korea Qiu Guohong Businesspeople, professors and bureaucrats from Korea and China gathered in Seoul to discuss ways to strengthen the ties between the two countries at the China Forum 2017 co-hosted by The Korea Times and its sister paper the Hankook Ilbo, Wednesday. Marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Korean diplomatic relations, the attendees reviewed the history of the two countries' cooperation in various fields and came up with win-win strategies for the future. This year's forum was especially important, given that Korea has suffered for a year from China's retaliatory measures over the former's deployment of a U.S. anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Despite the thawing of frozen ties following China's 19th Party Congress last month and the recent summit between President Moon Jae-in and Chinese President Xi Jinping, negative public sentiment has risen toward each other. Experts at the forum therefore stressed the importance of friendship between the two neighbors. Saying cooperation has been beneficial for both, the attendees called for a paradigm shift for a better future. Seung Myung-ho, chairman of The Korea Times and the Hankook Ilbo, said the desperate need for future-oriented measures for a win-win bilateral relationship over the next century led the fifth China Forum to be titled the "25th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between Korea and China, Finding a New Paradigm." "Over the past 25 years, both countries have gained surprising achievements. Korea has joined the developed countries and China has leapt into the G2," Seung said during his welcoming speech. "However, the situation in Northeast Asia has fluctuated wildly with the rapid growth of Chinese industries and the North Korean nuclear crisis, resulting in the THAAD row." The chairman regarded the recent conflict as an opportunity for the governments and people of the two countries to realize the importance of each other. National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun and Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon also emphasized the significance of ties between Korea and China, during their congratulatory addresses at the forum. They spoke of their hope that the China Forum will be an opportunity for meaningful talks between the two countries. Qiu Guohong, the Chinese ambassador to Korea, said China has regarded its relationship with Korea as crucial and maintained its stance to strengthen ties. "China aims to establish a new international relationship with Korea and other countries for a sustainably peaceful and prosperous world," he said. Lee Kyu-hyung, the former ambassador to China, who delivered a keynote speech after the congratulatory addresses, offered his keen insights into the bilateral relationship, giving his opinions on the recent agreement to normalize Sino-Korean ties. After, three sessions offered other experts discussing specific issues in detail. The speakers included Lee Hee-ok, director of the Sungkyun Institute of China Studies; Guan Qingyou, vice president of the Mingsheng Advanced Institute of Finance; and Rhee Woo-geun, a microelectronics & nanoelectronics professor at Tsinghua University. By Lee Seong-hyon There is a growing interest in whether changes will occur in relations between North Korea and China as the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China is over. China-North Korea relations have stagnated in recent years. Nevertheless, there are a few indications for this prospect not to be ignored. If the summit between the top leaders of Beijing and Pyongyang is held, it will render a very significant new variable in geopolitics in the region. Seoul and Washington should be prepared for this contingency. In the early years of the Xi Jinping administration, Xi publicly sent a message to Kim Jong-un "to visit China at a convenient time." He did so a few times. Fast forwarding to the present, earlier this month, Xi sent Kim a courtesy message in response to congratulations from the North Korean leader for securing a second term as the head of China's ruling party. Most commentaries played down the exchange. They pointed out the "lengths" of the messages were shorter, compared to their "good old" times, and also the emphasis on "friendship" in their expressions was not accentuated as before. They therefore concluded that the duo were still in an estranged relationship. However, an alternative interpretation is possible. It should be noted that the top leaders of the two nations did not stop their "customary" exchanges on an important occasion such as the ruling party congress. That is, even though their relations hit a snag, China and North Korea are maintaining the continuity of their "customary" activities between the two ruling parties of the two socialist countries. It should be noted that Xi addressed Kim as "Comrade Chairman," reflecting the socialist tradition. Second, despite China's joining the U.N. punitive sanctions against Pyongyang, China has continued to attend to North Korea's "needs." In early 2017, North Korea demanded that the Chinese authorities remove the vulgar expressions (such as Kim's obesity, and also portraying Kim as a child playing with nuclear toys) in the Chinese social media. China immediately accepted the demand. In addition, regarding the U.N. sanctions, China rejected Washington's call for a complete embargo of China's oil supply to North Korea as well as Kim Jong-un's inclusion onto the sanctions list. In the end, these two were not reflected in the U.N. sanctions. Third, China and North Korea now have a legitimate and opportune reason to exchange high-level envoys. The Chinese Communist Party and the North Korean Workers' Party have "customs" to explain the outcome of their important political events by sending delegations to the other country. As such, China is expected to send a ranking delegation to North Korea soon. Fourth, there is a view in China that argues that China should actively manage the North Korean issue through the summit so as to secure China's influence over North Korea. North Korea's "usefulness" for China is bound to increase as Xi is poised to unleash a more confident and assertive diplomacy vis-a-vis with the U.S. China needs a "team" (North Korea, Russia) to counter the American regional alliance (South Korea, Japan). Yet there are challenges for the summit to materialize. China's existing position had been that North Korea should display "some kind of willingness" in the direction of denuclearization. China seems to regard this as a "face" issue that would justify the summit when the whole world will be watching the rare event. However, at this moment, North Korea appears not enthused to utter the word "denuclearization" at all. This stands as a formidable challenge for the summit to go ahead. In addition, if North Korea conducts another nuclear test, that will also likely chill the relationship for months, at least. Nonetheless, some expect a "big movement" in 2018 between Pyongyang and Beijing. In the complicated China-North Korea love affair, it is seen that it is often Pyongyang that steers the relationship, not Beijing. Pyongyang has so far shut the door and declined engaging China so as to focus on enhancing its nuclear capability. Now, feeling more secure and confident about its nuclear achievements, Kim may shift its foreign policy gear from the "nuclear mode" to the "outreach mode." If North Korea actively courts, China may be persuaded. Xi and Kim haven't had their first summit since their ascending to the top several years ago. In fact, some Chinese scholars also think it's about time to meet. Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute. MATTOON (JG-TC) -- Police officers have arrested a Chicago area man for allegedly battering three children. A Mattoon Police Department press release reported that Earl H. Criglear, 29, of Harvey was arrested at 4 p.m. Monday in the 1800 block of South Ninth Street on a charge of aggravated battery to a child under 13 years of age. The charge alleges that Criglear whipped three children with a belt to the point of leaving marks in various places upon the childrens bodies. The victims ranged from five 5 to 7 years in age. Criglear was taken to the Coles County jail. In other matters, Roberto C. Melendez, 28, of Mattoon was arrested at 3:23 p.m. Monday in the 3400 block of Shelby Avenue on a charge of criminal damage to property. The charge alleges that he broke a window at Douglas Rehabilitation & Care Center, 3516 Powell Lane. Melendez was issued a notice to appear in court. A new Family Dollar store will open in Whiteclay on Nov. 22, the company announced this week. The discount store joins a small handful of businesses in the unincorporated village in northwest Nebraska, just across the state line from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Work on the store, at 7896 Nebraska 87, began over the summer. A grand opening event with giveaways will be held Nov. 25. The Family Dollar is the first new business to open in Whiteclay since state regulators shut down four beer-only liquor stores there in April. The stores primarily sold to residents of Pine Ridge, where alcohol is banned. A task force led by state lawmakers has focused on economic development, job training and public health in Whiteclay in connection with the end of alcohol sales there. A Georgia man and woman pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge Wednesday in federal court in Lincoln in connection to the county's largest drug seizure: 1,517 pounds of marijuana. Isabel Mallar, 29, of Martinez, Georgia, and Rahman Nabavi, 30, of Alpharetta, Georgia, face up to 20 years in prison when U.S. District Judge John Gerrard sentences them in February. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Fullerton said a Lancaster County Sheriff's deputy stopped Mallar driving an RV for following another vehicle too closely on U.S. 77 near West Van Dorn Street. A Lancaster County Sheriff's Office K-9 indicated the smell of drugs, which led to a search. Inside the RV, deputies found 39 duffel bags stuffed with pound bags of marijuana, she said. It was worth an estimated $7.5 million. Deputies arrested Mallar, Nabavi and a third person who had been traveling in another vehicle following the RV. In separate hearings Wednesday, Mallar and Nabavi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. Prosecutors previously had dropped the case against the other man. Fullerton said Mallar and Nabavi had flown from Atlanta to Oregon and were driving back to Georgia with the marijuana to deliver it to a buyer there. May 3, 2021, 7 PM Philatelic Foreword By Jay Bigalke The postage stamp on a very simple level serves as an item of focus for us as stamp collectors. Author Meiko S. Patton takes the view of a postage stamp in a totally different perspective in a new book How a Postage Stamp Saved My Life, currently available via Amazon. When you think of something saving your life, a postage stamp doesnt exactly come to mind, writes Patton. She explains you normally first think of policemen, firefighters, professionals or friends. Postage stamps are small in stature but touch every aspect of our society, she notes. Connect with Linns Stamp News: Sign up for our newsletter Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Patton struggled with thoughts of suicide, but it was the stamp that pulled her away from those thoughts. It is amazing the number of ways one can look at what a stamp accomplishes and how she used that to positively motivate herself to turn things around when faced with difficulties in life. Her mother passed at age 59 after a bout with cancer, and depression set in for Patton. The book has 35 brief, easy-to-read chapters in 262 8- by 5-inch black-and-white pages. The chapters touch on these topics and more: how incredibly successful people think, overcoming fear, thinking positively, how to kill procrastination, defeat depression, stay focused, learning faster, and raising standards. Even though this isnt a traditional piece of philatelic literature, all of these topics use the stamp as the overarching theme. Heres a short excerpt showing how she accomplishes this throughout the book: Consider the postage stamp. When you think about it, the postage stamp is the ultimate goal achiever. When it is plucked from its sheet and carefully placed onto that envelope, it in effect says, I will not stop until I reach my goal. I will not look back. I will not falter. I will not second guess. I will reach my destination come what may. I will follow through. I will honor the struggle along the way. I am small and beautiful, yet mighty and bold. I will never give up. What about you? One of her favorite stamps, the only one specifically noted and illustrated in the book is the From Me To You forever stamp (Scott 4978) issued in 2015. It reminds me of giving wrote Patton. Mom was the ultimate giver. Patton worked as a letter carrier and was then promoted to writer/editor for the United States Postal Service in San Diego, Calif. It was during that time that I met her while attending stamp events in southern California. Today, she represents the USPS as the media contact for the Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Santa Barbara areas. Mysterious shipwrecks (Image credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer) For as long as humans have taken to the sea, there have been shipwrecks. UNESCO estimates that 3 million sunken ships litter ocean bottoms worldwide, many of which date back thousands of years. Some shipwrecks are well-documented or even deliberate navies often deliberately scuttled ships to block entrances into ports or waterways, according to UNESCO. But others are veiled in mystery. Read on for a list of shipwrecks obscured not only by ocean waves, but by mysterious circumstances. The loss of the Patriot (Image credit: Alamy) Aaron Burr, the third vice president of the United States, is most famous for killing former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel. But Burr's life was marred by another death. His daughter, Theodosia, disappeared at sea at the age of 29, along with the rest of the passengers and crew on schooner called the Patriot. The Patriot was traveling from Charleston, South Carolina, to New York City in December 1812 with Theodosia Burr aboard on a journey to visit her father. The last sighting of the ship was on Jan. 2, 1813, according to the blog North Carolina Shipwrecks. That night, a storm blew in. The ship was never heard from again. Burr believed for the rest of his life that the ship sank and that his daughter was dead. But rumors flew about the ship's fate. Some said the ship had not gone down in bad weather, but had been captured by pirates, and the crew and passengers taken prisoner or murdered. For years, there were rumors that Theodosia Burr had survived, or washed ashore dead, or that her murderers had confessed. Perhaps one of the spookiest occurrences was the 1869 discovery of a painting of a well-heeled young woman in the home of a North Carolina woman whose family looted ships for a living. It had been found aboard an abandoned vessel that had drifted ashore at Nags Head on the Outer Banks, she told the doctor who treated her. Theodosia Burr was said to have been bringing a very similar portrait to New York as a gift for her father. The Antikythera (Image credit: Wikipedia Commons) In 1900, sponge divers came upon something strange on the ocean floor off the Greek isle Antikythera: a ship, strewn with what they were sure were rotting corpses. A second look proved that though lives may have been lost when the ship went down, none were still around to rot. The wreck was 2,000 years old, and the bodies the divers had seen were actually its load of bronze statuary. The Antikythera shipwreck, a Roman vessel that went down sometime around 70 B.C., is still revealing new ancient treasures, including a bronze arm found in September 2017. Bones of unfortunate sailors have also been found amidst the wreckage, and researchers hope to extract ancient DNA from some of the more recent discoveries. But the most stunning find at the Antikythera site is the "Antikythera mechanism," a strange clockwork device in a wooden box that may have functioned as an analog computer. By spinning its gears, ancient users could map out the moon's phase and position, the position of the sun and predict 223 years of eclipses. The technology of the mechanism predates anything similar that has been found by at least 1,000 years. The Hunley (Image credit: Alamy) The Civil War submarine, the H.L. Hunley actually sank three times. First demonstrated in 1863, the ship is famous as one of the initial forays into developing combat submarines. She carried Confederate Navy men to Charleston Harbor, attempting to break a Union blockade that was strangling the city. On the very first mission, the Hunley sank at the dock when either the wake of a ship swamped it or tangled lines dragged it underwater. Five men died, according to Friends of the Hunley. The sub was recovered and launched again a few months later. Someone left a valve open and it sank, killing its entire 8-man crew. The back-to-back disasters did not dissuade the Confederate Navy, though. The ship was found, modified and put back in service for a February 1864 mission in which it sunk the U.S.S. Housatonic, killing five. It would turn out to be a suicide mission for the Hunley's crew. The sub and all aboard were never heard from again until 1995, when a team of wreck-hunters rediscovered it, with all eight crew members inside. In 2000, the wreck was raised. Still, no one knows what doomed the Hunley's final mission. She may have been crippled by her own torpedo, according to Friends of the Hunley, or trapped by ill-favored tides, leaving the crew to die of asphyxia when their air ran out. They may have been clipped by a Union rescue ship that never even noticed the collision, or perhaps someone managed a lucky shot that disabled the sub's captain and sent water pouring into the vessel. The Griffin's many discoveries (Image credit: John Flesher/AP) In 2011, a couple of treasure-hunters were searching Lake Michigan for $200 million worth of gold that fell from a ferry crossing in the 1800s, at least according to local legend. What they found was perhaps less lucrative but far weirder. It was a shipwreck, covered with invasive zebra mussels. The treasure hunters thought it is the wreck of the Griffin, a ship built and lost by French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle in 1679. La Salle was looking for the mouth of the Mississippi River when the Griffin went down. He'd gotten off the ship to pay off some of his debts, and his crew allegedly set sail in a storm and was never seen again. Since then, multiple people have thought they found the wreck. Further investigations revealed the shipwreck found on the treasure hunt to be too large to be the Griffin. It was probably a late 19th-century or early 20th-century tugboat, according to state archaeologists. But another Griffin candidate has since emerged, in the form of a centuries-old wooden timber found at the bottom of the lake. The World Trade Center Ship (Image credit: LMDC/Columbia University) After 9/11, during the rebuilding efforts at Ground Zero, construction workers stumbled upon something bizarre just south of where the Twin Towers used to stand. It was a wooden ship, mangled and skeletal. No one knew where it had come from. It took four years, but archaeologists eventually used tree rings in the wood to reveal that the World Trade Center ship was built in the early 1770s, from old-growth wood of the same sort used to build Independence Hall in Philadelphia. But no one knows who the ship belonged to or how it ended up where it ended up. It may have sunk accidentally and inadvertently become part of the filled-in land that makes up parts of Lower Manhattan. Or it could have been deliberately scuttled as part of the foundation of that infill. The very valuable San Jose (Image credit: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty) For 307 years, the Spanish galleon San Jose was missing and with her, piles and piles of Spanish treasure meant to fuel an 18th-century war against the English. The San Jose, carrying gold, silver and emeralds from Spain's colonial holdings in South America, went down in battle with four English ships in 1708. The fiery conflagration and subsequent sinking took 600 lives, though no one knows exactly why the San Jose exploded. It may have been that her powder room caught fire, or she simply may have succumbed to the power of the English bombardment. Whatever the case, the ship was rediscovered in December 2015. Disputes over its ownership have delayed its salvage and the discovery of whatever treasure might still be aboard. In June 2017, the Colombian government announced it was launching a public-private partnership to salvage the vessel, despite continuing legal claims by a private firm that claims to have found the ship and the modern-day Spanish government. The new mystery of the San Jose, it seems, is who owns it. Nameless Ship (Image credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer) Sometime in the early to middle 1800s, a copper-plated wooden vessel sank 200 miles (321 kilometers) off the coast into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. In 2011, a seafloor survey by oil giant Shell noticed a blip in a sonar survey. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched a mission to investigate, and, in 2012, discovered the rotting hull, a ship's stove and a variety of ceramic plates and glass bottles. National Geographic reported that later visits to the wreck revealed muskets, cannons and eyeglasses. The wreck could be anything from a passenger vessel to a pirate ship, the magazine reported. The Mary Rose (Image credit: Olivia Harris/Getty) The Mary Rose was a warship of King Henry VIII of England, built not long after Henry ascended the throne in 1509. She would participate in several skirmishes against the French early in her career, only to be kept in storage when the fighting died down. In the 1545, amid Henry VIII's quarrels with the Pope over his serial marriages and increasingly strained diplomatic relationships with monarchs on continental Europe, France attempted an invasion of England at Portsmouth. The Mary Rose was involved in the ensuing battle. At some point amid the cannon bombardment, she went down, taking more than 300 crewmen to their deaths. No one knows exactly why the warship sank, according to the museum dedicated to her memory. A recent retrofit may have left her too heavy to withstand an unlucky wind that caught her as she was turning. She may have been overloaded. Or perhaps a French cannonball hit her hull, swamping her. Even the rediscovery of the wreck and raising the Mary Rose from the seabed in 1982 hasn't answered this question. Perfect Preservation (Image credit: EEF/Black Sea Map) When geologists surveying the Black Sea stumbled across 40 centuries-old shipwrecks scattered around the bottom in 2016, it was a total surprise. Many of the ships looked as if they went down yesterday, despite the fact some sank during the days of the Byzantine Empire (330 to 1452). That's because the Black Sea's environment is unusual. Its lower water layers are salty influx from the Mediterranean, above which freshwater flowing in from the land floats gently. The lower salty layers are low in oxygen, meaning that wood-eating microbes can't survive down deep. This results in absurdly pristine shipwrecks. Researchers used an ROV to investigate the Black Sea wrecks and photograph them, but their identities are lost to time. A Twice-Lost Wreck (Image credit: Julia Sumerling/Silentworld Foundation) In 1850, the Jenny Lind was carrying 28 souls, including three children, from Melbourne to Singapore when it ran aground on a reef and sank. All crew and passengers survived by camping out on a spit of sand, building a boat salvaged from the Jenny Lind's wreckage and sailing 370 miles (600 km) in it to the Australian mainland. The remains of the Jenny Lind remained visible on the reef until at least 1987, but in June 2017, maritime archaeologists reported that the ocean had beaten away at the wreck until nothing remained. Incredible find (Image credit: Courtesy of Anastasia Koryakina) A man hunting for mammoth tusks in Eastern Siberia came across an unexpected find in the permafrost: the mummy of a cat that lived during the last ice age. It's not yet clear whether the ancient kitty is a cave lion or a Eurasian lynx, but the cat's body proportions and coat markings indicate that it's probably a lynx, said Olga Potapova, the collections curator and manager at the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, who is helping with the logistics of studying the new specimen. If it is a Eurasian lynx, the newfound mummy will be only the second specimen of the species known from the last ice age to be discovered in that region. [Read the Full Story on the Newly Discovered Cat Mummy] Kitty cat (Image credit: Courtesy of Anastasia Koryakina) Boris Berezhnev discovered the ice age kitty in permafrost by the Tirekhtykh River (also spelled Tirekhtyakh) in Eastern Siberia. Closer look (Image credit: Courtesy of Anastasia Koryakina) A closer view of the furry mummified kitten. Notice its whiskers are still intact. Eurasian lynx (Image credit: David Castor) Scientists have yet to verify the species of the newfound mummy. It is possible it's a Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), an animal that didn't go extinct like other megafauna (animals weighing more than 100 lbs., or 45 kilograms) did at the end of the last ice age. Cave lion (Image credit: Valeriya Popova/Shutterstock) There's a chance that the newly discovered mummy is a cave lion (Panthera spelaea), a species that is now extinct. Here is the statue of a cave lion in Moscow. Uyan (Image credit: Olga Potapova) The cave lion mummy known as Uyan, who was discovered in the Siberian permafrost in 2015. Ice age researchers (Image credit: Courtesy of Innokentii Pavlov and Valerii Plotnikov) Albert Protopov (left) and Valerii Plotnikov (right) doing fieldwork on Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, in Russia's Eastern Siberia. Dream team (Image credit: Alisa Vershinina) Olga Potapova (left), the collections curator and manager at the Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota, and Beth Shapiro, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, present their research at the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology meeting in 2016 in Salt Lake City. Both women are co-researchers studying Uyan and Dina, two cave lion kitten mummies that were also discovered in Russia. [Read the Full Story on the Newly Discovered Cat Mummy] Woolly rhino (Image credit: Courtesy of Anastasia Koryakina) Scientists working on another mummy a baby woolly rhino named Sasha, who was also found in Siberia. From the left, Olga Potapova (The Mammoth Site of Hot Springs, South Dakota), Evgeny Maschenko (Paleontological Institute, Moscow), Albert Protopopov, Stanislav Kolesov and Innokentii Pavlov (Department of The Mammoth Fauna Studies, Sakha (Yakutia) Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk). [Read the Full Story on the Baby Woolly Rhino] Mammoth brain (Image credit: courtesy of Michael Potapov) Researchers have also found woolly mammoth mummies. Here, Russian scientists cut into the skull of the 39,000-year-old Yuka Mammoth. The brain of this mammoth is largely complete, allowing researchers an unprecedented look at the extinct mammal's neural matter, especially its cerebellum. From the left: Albert Protopopov and Innokentii Pavlov (Department of The Mammoth Fauna Studies, Sakha (Yakutia) Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk), Anastasia Kurtova and Anastasia Kharlamova (Research Institute of Human Morphology, Russian Academy of Medical Science, Moscow, Russia). [Read the Full Story on the Mammoth Mummy] Injecting the blood plasma of healthy young people into people with Alzheimer's disease appears to be safe, and the practice may even lead to small improvements in daily functioning in Alzheimer's patients, a new small trial suggests. But not all experts are lining up behind this technique, and instead argue that the science simply isn't there yet to support it. It sounds a little (OK, a lot) sci-fi: infusing old people with young blood to reverse the scars of aging and disease. Indeed, the concept is more speculative than most science that makes it to the human-testing phase. No one knows why young blood might help improve a degenerative disease like Alzheimer's, and the vast majority of the research so far has been done in rodents. If it works and that is far from certain it's a total mystery as to why. "It's outside of the box," said Dr. Sharon Sha, a neurologist at Stanford University School of Medicine who led the new trial on the safety of the treatment. The research team is making no grand claims about a cure for dementia, Sha told Live Science, but rather wants to push the research forward in the knowledge that it's safe for humans. [6 Big Mysteries of Alzheimer's Disease] Blood swap The results of the new trial, which the researchers presented Nov. 4 at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease 10th annual meeting in Boston, focused on people with mild or moderate Alzheimer's disease. In the first portion of the trial, nine patients were given either an infusion of blood plasma (the clear portion of blood that contains clotting factors and immune cells, but no red blood cells) or a placebo weekly for four straight weeks. They then went six weeks without treatment and returned for a final four weeks of getting either the plasma or the placebo whatever they hadn't received the first time. Neither the researchers nor the patients knew which treatment they were receiving at any given time. The patients took cognitive assessments before and after each portion of the trial. They also took assessments of their daily living abilities, such as the ability to pay bills or balance a checkbook, before and after the treatments. In the second half of the trial, another nine patients took baseline cognitive and daily functioning assessments, got four weeks of weekly plasma infusions and then took another round of assessments. The main point of the study, Sha said, was to ensure that the plasma treatments were safe. Plasma is already used for conditions in which the body has lost a lot of blood or needs help with clotting, but it can sometimes trigger itching or immune reactions, Sha said. Another concern was whether the plasma transfusions would raise the patients' blood pressure. There was no evidence of negative side effects from the treatment, the researchers found. And they found tantalizing hints that it might also be useful: Although the plasma treatments didn't alter the patients' scores on cognitive testing, the patients did show small improvements in their ability to function on a daily basis. Timing concerns The study wasn't really designed to look for detailed outcomes, Sha said, so it's not clear why improvements showed up in daily functioning but not thinking abilities. It's possible that the cognitive measurements the team used were too broad, or that the four-week time frame of the study was too short, she said. Or perhaps the treatments simply don't do much for cognitive abilities, or even functional abilities. "The fact that we found some improvement in functional abilities is exciting and promising, but it doesn't mean that it proves improved functional abilities," Sha said. For that, the researchers need a larger human trial spanning a longer time frame, she said. But not all researchers think that transfusions of young blood will lead to meaningful medical treatments. The new study proves neither benefit nor safety, said Irina Conboy, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley. For Conboy, who was not involved in the research, larger human trials are premature. The study conducted by Sha and her colleagues was too short-term to determine either benefit or harm from the transfusions, she said. Moreover, the decision to do transfusions for only four weeks seems arbitrary, Conboy told Live Science, and the patients weren't tracked long enough to see long-term side effects, like the development of autoimmune problems, which can take years. [11 Surprising Facts About the Immune System] "How do you know that, after five weeks, you would not see improvement or something really bad, like side effects?" Conboy said. "Why did you do four weeks and then you stopped?" Mystery mechanism The idea of transfusing new blood into old bodies dates back to the 1950s, when researchers would surgically attach two animals (usually rats) so that they shared a blood flow a process called parabiosis. This method was often used to study metabolism. More recently, scientists have become interested in using parabiosis to understand and attempt to slow aging. In 2012, for example, University of Cambridge-led research found that linking the blood flow of old mice to young mice led to the formation of new myelin in the central nervous systems of the old mice. Myelin is the fatty sheeting that surrounds nerve cells and enables them to conduct electricity rapidly. Since myelination declines with age and in chronic diseases like multiple sclerosis, the researchers hoped that they could isolate something in young blood that drives remyelination in old brains. The new Alzheimer's trials came out of research done by Tony Wyss-Coray, a Stanford neuroscientist and the founder of the startup Alkahest, which aims to find the factors in blood that promote tissue regeneration. Alkahest was responsible for the current human trial, in collaboration with Sha's Stanford lab. Earlier this year in the journal Nature (opens in new tab), Wyss-Coray and his colleagues reported that giving plasma from human umbilical-cord blood to old mice improved the function of the hippocampus, a brain region involved in memory and spatial reasoning, in the mice. The study also found an increase in a blood factor called tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP2) in the brains of the transfused mice, suggesting a possible culprit for the improvement. TIMP2 isn't the only possibility, though. Another study by Wyss-Coray's team, this one published in the journal Nature Medicine in 2014 (opens in new tab), found similar improvements in cognitive function in old mice given blood from young mice that, in part, seemed due to the activation of a protein called Creb, or cyclic AMP response element binding protein. It may be a combination of factors, not just one do-it-all protein, that makes the difference, Sha said. [Extending Life: 7 Ways to Live Past 100] But Conboy noted that these animal studies used older, but not elderly, mice. Those studies were the equivalent of testing the transfusions on healthy 60-year-old humans without dementia, she said. There are animal models of Alzheimer's disease, including genetically modified mice, but tests using those models haven't been done, Conboy said. Nor have the results from Wyss-Coray's team been replicated by outside research groups. "Typically, before we start any procedure in clinical trials, we do work with animals that model that particular disease, which was not done in this case," Conboy said. Replications of the mouse work should be the next step, she said, not further human testing. Her research, she added, has found that infusions of young blood are not typically enough to alter the physiology of old bodies. In older cells, multiple proteins and molecules are overproduced, and those need to be regulated downward to see therapeutic benefit, Conboy said. Young blood alone can't overpower these effects of age. Wyss-Coray and his team, on the other hand, think there is some sort of anti-aging power in the blood of the young. Ultimately, the goal is to find these factors and re-create them as a medication, Sha said. "I think we wouldn't want to rely on the youthful population" to donate blood to the elderly, she said. "There's hope, and people are working on it," Sha said. "It's not the answer yet." Original article on Live Science. The final stage in the official search for Whangateau pensioner Maree Wilkins, who has been missing from a Leigh Road rest home since Tuesday evening, November 7, will focus on Whangateau Harbour. At a public meeting at the Rams Clubrooms in Whangateau last night, Warkworth officer-in-charge Sgt Scott Sherer said that although the search was now a recovery operation, the police Eagle helicopter would continue, when available, to do sweeps of the harbour at low tide this week. Sgt Sherer said there was no evidence to support the idea that Ms Wilkins had left the area and although police couldnt rule out foul play, they felt this was unlikely. About 35 residents attended the meeting and expressed concern at the way the search had been conducted, particularly the lack of publicity when Ms Wilkins was first discovered to be missing. Several people felt that had the missing person been a child, it would have been all over the media. As it was, even people in Warkworth were unaware of Ms Wilkins disappearance. Sgt Sherer agreed that there were lessons to be learned, particularly in terms of how messages were communicated to the immediate community. He said police put out media releases and posted on social media, but they couldnt dictate what news organisations chose to publish or broadcast. Commenting on a proposal to set-up a community search, Sgt Sherer recommended that it did not happen. The search has been conduct by highly trained professionals and will be subject to a police audit. I cant support a community search which could put other peoples lives at risk. A general discussion on how the community could have been better informed covered the importance of residents belonging to neighbourhood support and civil defence groups, where alerts could be circulated quickly. Sgt Sherer also supported the idea of handing out flyers, given that not everyone was connected online. Local News, Crime, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: November 15 2017 Wills Pleads Guilty To Filing False Disclosure With NYC Conflicts Of Interest Board. New York, NY - November 15, 2017 - New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the guilty plea today of former New York City Councilman Ruben Wills. Wills pleaded guilty to one count of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the Second Degree, a class A misdemeanor. Pursuant to his plea agreement, Wills admitted he knowingly filed a false annual financial disclosure report with the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board by intentionally failing to disclose personal loans made to him on his 2012 Financial Disclosure Report, as required by law. In July, a Queens County jury found Wills guilty of five felony counts related to his theft of public funds from both the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and the New York City Campaign Finance Board, following public corruption charges brought by Attorney General Schneiderman. Subsequently, Wills was expelled from the New York City Council and sentenced to two to six years in prison (which he is currently serving), as well as a $5,000 fine and more than $30,000 in restitution New Yorkers trust that their elected officials will serve with integrity. Again and again, Ruben Wills violated that trust stealing taxpayer dollars to line his own pockets and filing false documents to hide his financial dealings. Hes now in prison, paying the price, said Attorney General Schneiderman. No public servant is above the law, and well continue to root out and prosecute public corruption across New York. "Mr. Wills was elected to serve the public. Instead, he repeatedly broke the law by stealing public funds and, in this case, filed false disclosure forms to conceal his financial dealings," said Comptroller DiNapoli. "Thanks to our Operation Integrity partnership with Attorney General Schneiderman, Mr. Wills was convicted and is serving prison time." Since 2011, Attorney General Schneiderman, through his Operation Integrity partnership with Comptroller DiNapoli, has brought charges against dozens of individuals implicated in public corruption schemes around the state resulting in the return of over $11 million in restitution to taxpayers through these convictions. Assistant Attorneys General John Chiara and Travis Hill of the Public Integrity Bureau prosecuted the case, with assistance from Legal Support Analyst Dillon Kraus and former Legal Support Analyst Mollie Krent. The Public Integrity Bureau is led by Bureau Chief Daniel G. Cort and Deputy Bureau Chief Stacy Aronowitz. The Criminal Division is led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Margaret Garnett. The Attorney Generals investigation was conducted by Investigator Angel LaPorte and Gerald Matheson under the supervision of Deputy Chief John McManus. The Investigations Bureau is led by Chief Dominick Zarrella. Local News, Crime, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: November 15 2017 Contractor Robert B. Cooper, Banned By Court Order From Illegally Operating Home Contracting Business, Allegedly Continued Operating Illegally Under New Name, Roberts Paving And Excavating. New York, NY - November 15, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that he filed a lawsuit seeking relief for consumers defrauded by Robert B. Cooper, Jr. and his company, Roberts Paving and Excavating, LLC, a Buffalo-Niagara area home improvement contracting business. Cooper, who previously did business as Finger Lakes Asphalt, received a court order in 2014 barring him from the home contracting business until he complied with New York State Law. However, based on new consumer complaints, the Attorney General's office recently learned that Cooper has continued to operate his paving business under a new name, and in violation of the law. Cooper and his business Roberts Paving and Excavating performed shoddy work, utilized bait-and-switch pricing, failed to obtain consumer authorization before beginning work, and intimidated consumers to collect inflated payments. As a result, Attorney General Schneiderman is seeking to hold Cooper in civil and criminal contempt of court. If found to be in contempt, Cooper could face a permanent ban from acting as a home improvement contractor, penalties, and jail time. Homeowners are entitled to certain protections and no contractor is above the law, said Attorney General Schneiderman. I urge defrauded homeowners to contact our office, and all New Yorkers to follow our tips before negotiating home improvement services. In 2014, the Attorney General sued Cooper and Finger Lakes Asphalt after an investigation revealed that Cooper had repeatedly defrauded consumers by failing to: perform work or complete work after receiving payment, provide refunds for incomplete or defective work, provide consumers with a written home improvement contract that complied with state law, and give consumers notice of their three-day right to cancel. Following the 2014 investigation, Broome County State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey A. Tait issued a consent order barring Cooper from operating a home improvement business unless he complied with New York General Business Law and Personal Property law. Cooper was also ordered to pay $8,150 in restitution and $3,000 in penalties and costs. In this new proceeding against Cooper, the Attorney Generals office is seeking to hold Cooper in civil and criminal contempt and award of civil penalties and restitution to victims. The Attorney General is also seeking relief against Coopers current business, Roberts Paving and Excavating, LLC. If Cooper is found in contempt of the Courts order, the Court could permanently ban him from working as a home improvement contractor in New York; order that he pay civil penalties and criminal fines; and/or sentence him to up to six months in jail. The contempt charges are merely accusations and the respondent is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. Consumers who believe they may have been defrauded by or have unresolved disputes with Robert B. Cooper, Jr. or his company, Roberts Paving and Excavating, LLC, are urged to contact the Attorney Generals Buffalo Regional Office at 716-853-8400. When planning to use a home improvement contractor, consumers should consider the following tips: Determine exactly what you want done, then look for a qualified contractor Shop around; get at least three estimates from reputable contractors that include specific information about the materials and services to be provided Never agree to have work done on the spot, especially when potential contractors are marketing door-to-door Ask for references: check with the Better Business Bureau, banks, suppliers and neighbors Always contact any references provided to you Insist on a written contract that includes the price and description of the work needed Do not pay unreasonable advance sums; negotiate a payment schedule tied to the completion of specific stages of the job Never pay the full price up front Remember that you have three days to cancel after signing a home improvement contract, but all cancellations must be in writing Additional information on how to avoid home improvement scams can be found on the Attorney Generals website The Attorney Generals office would like to thank the Niagara County Sherriffs Office for their assistance with this investigation. School & Education, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Arts & Culture By Long Island News & PR Published: November 15 2017 Christina was one of 32 students from across the country to receive the award, which is based on a combination of academic merit and financial need. Port Jefferson Station, NY - November 15, 2017 - The National Law Enforcement & Firefighters Childrens Foundation (NLEAFCF) today announced Christina Lettich, of The National Law Enforcement & Firefighters Childrens Foundation (NLEAFCF) today announced Christina Lettich, of Port Jefferson Station, NY , as a recipient of the NLEAFCF Scholarship. Christina received the scholarship in recognition of her exceptional leadership, community service and scholastic achievement. Christina was one of 32 students from across the country to receive the award, which is based on a combination of academic merit and financial need. The recipients are all children of a law enforcement officer or firefighter who was killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. First responders have given so much to defend and protect us. How better to honor their commitment to all of us than to ensure that their children achieve their full potential? Helping to pay for their college and complete their higher education is the least we can do to honor these law enforcement and firefighters families, said NLEAFCF President and Founder Al Kahn. Christina has demonstrated leadership among her peers and exceptional scholastic achievements, as well as contributing her time and energy to community service. We are proud to be a part of helping Christina achieve her academic goals. Christina is a sophomore at the School of Visual Arts in New York, where she is pursuing Fine Arts. At SVA, she is part of the "Cartoon Allies, where she connects with friends who also love cartooning. Christina has copyrighted over 60 of her own characters so far. I want to be a cartoonist and story board artist. Although I am shy, I can tell great stories through my writing and especially through my drawing. My emotions come through a pencil and marker, explained Christina. When I started taking Saturday classes at the School of Visual Arts I really felt like I found my spot. In high school, Christina won several awards for art. She was a member of the National Art Honor Society and drama club, and designed and painted sets for school plays and annual high school "trick or treat street," all the while making Honor Roll. In her spare time, she volunteered at Studio E art school and for the Special Education Parent Teacher Association. Christina also received the President's Education Awards and Outstanding Academic Excellence Award. Christina is described as having a strong commitment to her education, good communication skills and the ability to work well with others. She is a motivated, intelligent, passionate and creatively talented individual with a drive to succeed. Christina comes from a long family line of law enforcement. Her father was a member of the Suffolk County Police Department disabled in the line of duty in 2003. Her grandfather was a member of the Fire Department of New York and died in the line of duty. National Law Enforcement & Firefighters Childrens Foundation (NLEAFCF) is dedicated to helping the children of law enforcement officers and firefighters lost or permanently disabled in the line of duty. When the ultimate sacrifice has been made by a first responder, the Foundation believes it is our responsibility as a society to ensure that their children achieve their full potential as active citizens and thriving members of the community. Through grants, college scholarships and family-friendly events, the NLEAFCF serves the needs of these children across the country regardless of how long ago or how recent their loss. The Foundations long-term commitment is a promise to the people who defend and protect us, a major investment in our nations future and in tomorrows heroes. Nassau Police Investigating Fatal Vehicular Accident in East Meadow Local News, Crime By Long Island News & PR Published: November 15 2017 LongIsland.com The operator of a tractor trailer was attempting to back up when he struck the male victim, 89, who was walking behind the truck, officials say. NCPD reports a Fatal Vehicular Accident that occurred on Tuesday, November 14, in East Meadow. Photo by: LI.com News Team Nature & Weather, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Politics By Long Island News & PR Published: November 15 2017 The NFIP Policyholder Protection Act would provide a credit to homeowners with NFIP policies who invest in mitigation activities. Long Island, NY - November 15, 2017 - Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the House Financial Services Committee, announced today that his bipartisan bill with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D, NY-12), the NFIP Policyholder Protection Act (H.R. 2868), passed the House of Representatives as part of the 21st Century Flood Reform Act (HR 2874), a major flood insurance reauthorization and reform package. The NFIP Policyholder Protection Act would provide a credit to homeowners with NFIP policies who invest in mitigation activities, such as elevating their homes, adding porous foundations, or moving boilers to a higher floor. This credit would result in lower premiums and help reduce the cost to homeowners. Among other provisions, the bill also requires FEMA to better cover co-op units within NFIP. Congressman Zeldin said, Homeowners who do the right thing and invest in mitigation activities deserve a strong return on their investment in the form of lower NFIP premiums. The NFIP Policyholder Protection Act puts preparedness first by rewarding flood insurance policyholders who elevate their homes or undertake other mitigation activities to reduce their flood risk and protect their property. On Long Island, protecting life and property from flood damage is a top priority. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues in Congress to get this bill passed in the Senate and sent to the Presidents desk without delay. I am also thankful for the strong bipartisan teamwork of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and for the leadership of Chairman Jeb Hensarling and Chairman Sean Duffy on this important legislation. H.R. 2868, the NFIP Policyholder Protection Act, received widespread local support when it passed out of committee in June. Super Storm Sandy served as a devastating reminder of how vulnerable Long Islanders are to natures fury, said Brookhaven Town Supervisor Ed Romaine. Congressman Zeldins legislation, which I strongly support, is in the best interest of homeowners who do the right thing by taking steps to protect their homes and property. I urge Congress to follow his lead and move this forward before the next major weather event brings more flooding to our shoreline communities. Paul Pontieri, Mayor of the Village of Patchogue , said, As a waterfront community many residents of Patchogue Village, like many others on Long Island, suffered severe damage on their homes. Unfortunately even after the storm passed the suffering continued with the reconstruction of their homes and the prospect of extremely high insurance rates. Congressman Zeldin's legislation offers the needed relief these families need to continue to live their lives in the communities they love. New York Citys Chief Resilience Officer Dan Zarrilli said, New York City is pleased to see proposed legislation that emphasizes feasible mitigation options for the types of buildings that are built in dense urban environments. These mitigation options will enable homeowners and businesses to reduce their flood risk in an affordable way, which is necessary to enhance resiliency in cities across the nation." by Andrew Susman , Op-Ed Contributor, November 14, 2017 American society is suffering from a severe trust deficit. It affects everything from our national politics, to news to the ads we see. The advertising and marketing community may not be able to address all these ills, but there are some concrete, realizable steps that can at least ameliorate some of them. Because the industry underpins so much of the communications Americans are exposed to, it behooves us and we are obliged to explore all avenues to improve the situation. A considerable source of the trust problem lies with digital media, which has become enormously powerful in its ability to reach huge audiences, but has not yet evolved the kinds of standards and practices common in older media including libel laws, ownership rules and systems to thwart fraud. This month, the tech giants Facebook, Google and Twitter appeared before Congress to publicly acknowledge their role in Russias influence on the presidential campaign. They received withering criticism for their lack of transparency, as senators complained that the companies had waited nearly a year to disclose the extraordinary breadth of Americans exposure to Russian propaganda far greater than they had previously acknowledged. advertisement advertisement But as The New York Times reported, they offered little more than promises to do better. Frustrated senators pushed for harsher remedies, including regulations on their advertising practices akin to the rules for political advertising on television, such as a rule to require reporting of who funds online political ads. While not publicly resisting such a rule, the tech giants lobbyists are reportedly doing so quietly. Indeed, too much of the response to the increasing calls for the media and advertising communities to be more open in their business dealings can be categorized as, essentially lip service Besides entailing the possible risk of governmental regulations, continued resistance to transparency simply compounds the trust deficit. Rather than resisting, the advertising community might consider the benefits of being more proactive in addressing the trust issue. After all, the industry provides the financial support for most media, and especially Facebook and Google. So it ought to have some influence on how they conduct their business. Indeed, advertisers frustrations with the tech giants opacity in issues like bot fraud and fake traffic echo the complaints of the politicians who are demanding information on the sources behind their content, as well as their advertisers. The need for leadership and aggressive action is what motivated the creation of the Advertising Transparency and Trust Forum, which has participants from major and agencies, as well as key trade groups. While recognizing the advertising industry cannot address all the countrys trust issues, such as fake news and misuse of social media, the ATTF believes it is time to move toward real solutions. While its focus is necessarily in the media-advertising relationship, the fact is that modern communications technologies are extraordinarily powerful, both in the marketplace of ideas as well as in the promotion of consumer products. More openness in an extremely complex system can help expose bad actors to the light of day. Its not clear that even Google can identify all its advertisers at present. The ATTF believes that real change in behavior will not come about simply with high-minded declarations of good intentions, but in the very concrete area of contractual agreements. To that end, it is developing the Advertising Contracts Exchange (ACE), an open-use database of contract clauses currently used by marketers and agencies. In identifying appropriate contractual language, which pertains to our current dilemma of advertiser trust with the consumer and/or voter, the ATTF supports the principles of the Institute for Advertising Ethics, headed by Wally Snyder, former president of the AAF. Among these are commitments to: clearly distinguish advertising, public relations and corporate communications from news and editorial content and entertainment, both online and offline. clearly disclose all material conditions (payments, receipt of merchandise) affecting endorsements in social, as well as traditional channels never compromise consumers' personal privacy in marketing communications Making the legal language of clauses like these generally available can, ideally, lead to the identification and adoption of best practices via operating commitments. This is particularly necessary for online media. Due to the fast-changing nature of the medium, contracts are constantly in need of updating to address new developments. As you read this, the ANA/BAA Marketing Law Conference is meeting in Chicago, keynoted by Thomas Pahl, acting director of the FTCs Bureau of Consumer Protection. Ed Kabak and Dan Jaffe at the ANA showed remarkable foresight in making this choice. No doubt some of these issues are on the minds of attendees. In early 2018, the Advertising Contracts Exchange (ACE) will launch, turning ethical understandings into contract law. It is time, and past time, to move beyond mere posturing to actually address the trust issues that plague our industry. By creating greater transparency, we may be able to help address some of the larger social issues in our democracy. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, November 15, 2017 Google is seeking support from "everyone who cares about public access to information" in its battle with European regulators over the so-called "right to be forgotten." "We will argue in court for a reasonable interpretation of the right to be forgotten and for the ability of countries around the world to set their own laws, not have those of others imposed on them," Google general counsel Kent Walker said Wednesday in a blog post. "We encourage everyone who cares about public access to information to stand up and fight to preserve it," he writes, adding that European countries and institutions can weigh in with the court until November 20. The EU's highest court, the European Court of Justice, is currently considering two cases dealing with the "right to be forgotten." That right was created in 2014, when EU judges ruled that Google (and other search engines) must remove links to embarrassing information about Europeans at their request, after weighing their right to privacy against the public interest in the information. (The "right to be forgotten" doesn't exist in the United States, where free speech principles protect the right to publish accurate information.) advertisement advertisement Google has interpreted the right to be forgotten in Europe more narrowly than some officials. The search company contends that the ruling only requires the removal of links to some material in European countries, like Google.fr, but not from its worldwide search results, including the U.S. page Google.com. In 2015, French regulators rejected Google's position and ordered the company to remove material from all of its results pages. Google is now asking Europe's highest court to reject that view. "We ... believe that this runs contrary to the basic principles of international law: no one country should be able to impose its rules on the citizens of another country, especially when it comes to linking to lawful content," he writes. "Adopting such a rule would encourage other countries, including less democratic regimes, to try to impose their values on citizens in the rest of the world." Kent says that the second case centers on four people who have argued that "sensitive data" -- including information about criminal records and political affiliations -- should not be available through search engines. "If the court accepted this argument, it would give carte blanche to people who might wish to use privacy laws to hide information of public interest -- like a politicians political views, or a public figures criminal record," he writes. The brand new iPhone X comes with a security system that uses your face as a passcode. Naturally, every hacker in the world wants to have a go at Face ID. Hackers now claim they have successfully duplicated someone's face to unlock the iPhone X. YouTube A Vietnamese security firm released the information on a blog post that details how the hackers cracked Face ID by using composite masks. The masks were 3-D printed and used plastic, silicone, makeup and paper cutouts to fool the iPhone X into unlocking itself. The video posted by the firm shows that they were able to make the mask for $150 dollars and could cause a security risk for the iPhone X. The demonstration is yet to be confirmed by third-party researchers. It is quite hard to make the "correct" mask without certain knowledge of security, a Bkav blog post states. We were able to trick Apple's AI, because we understood how their AI worked and how to bypass it. The post adds: Potential targets [for Face ID hacking attempts] shall not be regular users, but billionaires, leaders of major corporations, national leaders and agents like FBI need to understand the Face ID's issue. Apple did publish a paper on Face ID a few weeks ago that details how it actually works. The iPhone X uses a neural network that is trained to spot fake masks. The network is used to defends against attempts to unlock your phone with photos or masks. An earlier test by Wall Street Journal shows that the iPhone X was able to detect a silicone mask and failed to unlock the phone. Face ID is the new security system that has replaced the fingerprint scanner on the iPhone X. The new smartphone makes use of the TrueDepth camera sensor in the front notch that uses the Infrared sensors and other sensors to scan a face. This allows the smartphone to make a 3D map of the user's face and is used to unlock the smartphone. Youtube What's weird is that during the iPhone X briefing, Phil Schiller said Apple's engineers have worked with mask makers and makeup artists to make the Face ID secure. "These are actual masks used by the engineering team to train the neural network to protect against them in Face ID," said Schiller during the keynote. Watch the video below to know more about how the hackers fooled Face ID: Were excited to announce that metalbulletin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com. A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving metals market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets. Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials. If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details. The Mets are weighing an earnest pursuit of Japanese star Shohei Ohtani if and when he is posted by the Nippon Ham Fighters, David Lennon and Marc Carig of Newsday report. While the Mets are limited in what they can offer at present, the team could potentially trade for additional pool money. The greater allure than the signing bonus they can offer, though, comes with the endorsement opportunities available to Ohtani by signing with one of the two teams in the nations largest market, Carig and Lennon posit. The Mets also have a strong relationship with Ohtanis agency, CAA, and they could offer Ohtani opportunities to bat not only on the days hes pitching but occasionally in the outfield. Lennon notes that the Mets should still be considered a long shot, but its nonetheless worth noting that another large-market club could be in the mix for his services. A few more notes out of Queens The organisers of the annual Radio Television Personality (RTP) Awards have officially presented the RTP Honorary Award trophy and citation to former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings. Unable to attend the main event held on October 28 at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) due to a delayed trip to Ghana, Nana Konadu, who was recognised along with Dr Osei Kwame Despite, Dr Kwaku Oteng and Hon Kennedy Agyapong for their outstanding contribution to the radio and television industries in Ghana, was delighted and thankful for the honour done her. Receiving the award from the CEO of Big Events, Prince Mackay, Nana Konadu expressed her gratitude to organisers of the awards for recognising her role in the expansion of the frontiers of Ghanas broadcast media. She revealed that she is passionate about the RTP Awards because it is rewarding and encourages excellence in an industry that is critical for the development of Ghana. Nana Konadu encouraged the organisers to continue holding the flag of Ghana high and use the awards to raise the bar in Ghanas broadcasting sector. On his part, Prince Mackay thanked the former first lady for her kind words and assured her that managers of the awards scheme will go to every length to preserve its credibility and shape the industry by motivating industry players to place focus on impacting society positively. The government has revealed that it will commence feasibility studies to set up a Creative Arts Fund to support the creative arts industry. The move, which was part of the partys 2016 manifesto, was targeted at making available funds to modernize and develop the sector. Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta during the presentation of 2018 budget statement and economic policy to Parliament, said plans are underway for the establishment of the Fund. Governement will continue its initiatives to improve the Creative Arts sector with the establishment of a fully functional Creative Arts Secretariat and the commencement of feasibility studies to set up a Creative Arts Fund, he said. Mr Ofori-Atta, however, failed to disclose how much has been allocated for the Fund as well as what it has allocated to the Creative Arts sector in general. The Minister, apart from the Creative Arts Fund, during Wednesdays presentation said the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana programme, which was launched this year, will continue in 2018. The promgramme he said is aimed at boosting the local economy and also enable Ghanaians appreciate their heritage. A gastronomic festival, according to the 2018 budget, will be organised to showcase Ghanaian foods and recipes through cooking competitions throughout the country as part of efforts to promote the local Ghanaian cuisine. Below is the Budget statement on TOURISM, CULTURE AND CREATIVE ARTS Tourism Research and Marketing Programme Mr. Speaker, to boost the local economy and to enable Ghanaians appreciate their heritage, the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana programme was launched this year and will continue in 2018. A gastronomic festival will be organised to showcase Ghanaian foods and recipes through cooking competitions throughout the country as part of efforts to promote the local Ghanaian cuisine. Governement will continue its initiatives to improve the Creative Arts sector with the establishment of a fully functional Creative Arts Secretariat and the commencement of feasibility studies to set up a Creative Arts Fund. The Ministry will also use international Tourism, Arts and Culture Fairs and fora and a Single Window portal to promote tourism and investment in Ghana. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com Photo credit - Divine Glory Christian Church 15.11.2017 LISTEN What is the proper relationship between praying and doing? That is, after praying is the petitioner required to do anything about what she is praying for? If a person prays for employment, does he have to look for work? When you pray to play the piano well, do you still have to practice? Praying that someone will be warmed and filled is not enough ( James 2:16 ). We can apply the faith without works admonition to prayer and works. One without the other is dead. The apostle Paul urges that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity ( 1 Tim. 2:12 ; cf. Titus 3:1 ; 1 Pet. 2:1315 ). Praying for all men does not absolve us of the responsibility of acting on these prayers when an opportunity presents itself. If this is true concerning all men, then its certainly true when it comes rulers and all who are in authority. This mean, given the opportunity and the freedom, that praying for civil officials is not all thats required of us. If there is something that we can do to stop policies that damage the life of widows and children and the poor (indiscriminate aid), oppress the population by taxation, and debase the currency which affects everyones purchasing power (theft by fiat money), then we have a duty to pray and act before God does in judgment. Consider the following: How the faithful city has become a harlot, She who was full of justice! Righteousness once lodged in her, But now murderers. Your silver has become dross, Your drink diluted with water. Your rulers are rebels And companions of thieves; Everyone loves a bribe And chases after rewards. They do not defend the orphan, Nor does the widows plea come before them. Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, declares, Ah, I will be relieved of My adversaries And avenge Myself on My foes. I will also turn My hand against you, And will smelt away your dross as with lye And will remove all your alloy. Then I will restore your judges as at the first, And your counselors as at the beginning; After that you will be called the city of righteousness, A faithful city ( Isa. 1:2126 ). These are important issues when we consider the state of our nation and the world. Weve had another National Day of Prayer. I dont want to minimize their effectiveness. God does hear and answer prayer. God can and does act without us. Sometimes prayer is all we can do. But can prayer become a substitute for action? Is prayer often looked at as a way to get God to do something that He has already instructed us to do? The Bible tells us that the person who does not work should not eat ( 2 Thess. 3:10 ). Is this person in the right to pray for food and expect action on Gods part if he wont lift a finger to work? To stop abortion and homosexual marriage, is prayer all were called on to do when the State is protecting abortionists by making abortion legal and redefining marriage through the legislative and the judicial branches of government? It seems to me that education and some type of political actualization are needed in addition to asking God for power, influence, wisdom and direction. These and other thoughts were brought home to me after reading an article about comments made by evangelist Luis Palau. Palau addressed a live Web audience during Evangelism Prayer Day. He told the audience that it is the responsibility of Christians to pray for, rather than complain about, their nation, especially during times of trouble. It seems to me, Palau said, that the Lord is telling us here if your nation is in trouble, how about looking inward, stop insulting the king, stop insulting the president. Stop saying, I cant stand him. There is some truth in what Palau says. Christians are complaining about whats going on in our nation when some of their actions have contributed to the state of the nation (dependency on government programs) or their inaction (refusing to participate in the political process) has resulted in the growth and power of the State. But I dont think that this is what Palau has in mind. His prescription, as far as I can tell, is to let elected officials do their job as governors with no input from Christians for change. Pray for them, and then let God act. But what if those in power are violating their oath of office? Would it be wrong for Christians to point this out to the oath-violaters, oppose their misdeeds, and work to remove them from political office in the next election? Do such constitutional actions mean that we are insulting the king? The president is not a king. He is an elected official who took and oath before God and those who elected him to uphold the Constitution. It is not wrong to oppose him or any elected official who violates his or her oath of office. The First Amendment declares that the people have the right . . . peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. That right can be expressed, as the First Amendment also states, in terms of religion, speech, and press. We can appeal to certain religious convictions about the limitations of civil government and write and speak about them. Neither the advance of the gospel nor the advance of Christian civilization came about only by praying about it. Christians worked hard to change laws, to be involved, to call civil and church officials to account. We are losing these freedoms because the church has not been preaching a comprehensive worldview. Many pastors are content to pray about it. Joshua expected a victory against Ai. Israel won its first encounter against Jericho without a casualty. Why should the battle with Ai be any different? The spies thought Ai was weak enough that only two or three thousand men need go up ( Joshua 7:3 ). Thirty-six Israelites were killed, and the rest were pursued and assaulted by the men of Ai with the result that the hearts of the people melted and became as water (7:5). Bible-believing Christians are disheartened with the way things are going in Washington and what may be coming down the political and social pike. You know what the Israelites were thinking. Maybe we should not have ventured to participate in this social thing. We were at least safe when we were ghettoized beyond the Jordan. There was even fear that things would get a lot worse once the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land heard about the defeat (7:9). Joshua, voicing these concerns to God, did what todays political remorseful are recommending: Pray about it. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell on the earth on his face before the ark of the LORD until evening, both he and the elders of Israel (7:7). In a word, he prayed . . . hard. What did God tell him to do? So the LORD said to Joshua, Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them (7:11). In effect, God told Joshua to stop praying at that point in time and act on the evil that brought them the defeat! Prayer is not a magical formula, an incantation that brings forth God like a Genie from a bottle. Prayer is an admission of weakness. It is in weakness that God can best use us ( 2 Cor. 12:10 ). But true faith and trust are not exercised if we do not act on the belief that God will work for us even in our weakness. Prayer is not the end but the beginning of the work God has called us to do. J. I. Packer says it this way: The Spirit does what he does. His supernaturalizing of our lives enables Christians, as a matter of fact, to do much for the Lord that they wouldnt be able to do otherwise. Thats the whole doctrine of gifts and ministry. Its my part to see what God calls me to do, to ask the Lord to enable me to do it, then to get up off my knees and go confidently into action, watching to see what help I shall be given, and finally to give thanks for what the Spirit did in and through me. There is sin in the Christian camp. Entire denominations support abortion and homosexuality. Those who claim to be Bible-believing Christians maintain that abortion (I have a letter to prove it) should be a protected right and homosexuals should have special rights protecting behavior that the Bible calls an abomination. The sins of Achanthe mantle of Shinar (humanism) and silver and gold (mammon)are the sins of the church. Prayer is a good and necessary practice. But after we fall on our face, lets be careful not to cover our ears. We might just hear Gods voice say, Get up and do something! Become a son of Issachar: Men who understood the times with knowledge of what Israel should do ( 1 Chron. 12:32 ). This means being informed and a doerwhat Israel should DO! The Minority in Parliament says it feels vindicated in its prediction that the 2017 abolition of a slew of taxes will hurt government's ability to fund its projects and programmes. Deputy Minority leader James Avedzi called for a re-introduction of the taxes in the 2018 budget to be presented Wednesday. Pro-government supporters on social media toasted in jubilation the March 2017 announcement that 11 taxes have been either abolished or reduced. But eight months down the line, the Deputy Minority leader is asking "have you seen any change in prices?" Picking examples, he argued that the abolition of the taxes on spare parts has failed to trigger a reduction in prices. The removal of this tax, he said, has led to the spare part dealers "spreading that revenue in their pockets." For that reason, the intended beneficiaries of the abolished taxes were not reached. Mr Avedzi also said the abolition of VAT on domestic airfares was unnecessary because the taxes were targeted at a particular class that could afford to pay. According to him, government's dwindling revenue kitty is further affected by a decreasing number of taxpayers. "In 2015, 2.5 million people who pay tax dropped. In 2016, the number dropped further to two million...in 2017 the taxable population in Ghana is now 1.2 million", he said. Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta This drop should be the concern of the government he argued. "Let's look at the people who have been paying and are now not paying. Where are they hiding? What is their income?" he queried. According to the Deputy Minority leader the failure to meet revenue targets affected government's ability to meet its promises set out in the 2017 budget. "The budget for 2017 has actually not been implemented. I can tell you that not more than 50% of allocations to MMDAs have not been disbursed because they didn't get the money". This, he said, will mean the 2018 budget will only be a rehash of 2017 promises. "It is going to contain nothing different from what we have in 2017 budget," he said. Mr Avedzi said the NDC MPs have been vindicated by their view that the estimates for revenue collection were too ambitious. He expects the Finance minister to eat humble pie and admit to MPs, "we have realised there are some taxes that we have abolished which has affected revenue targets and for that matter, we are taking a second look at those taxes" Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com Anti-human trafficking campaigner, Nana Ayimedu Brempong III, has called for intensification of the fight to stop the modern day slavery. He described as deeply disturbing the nation's current ranking as a 'Tier Two Watch List' country, and said that could have serious implications by way of the loss of millions of dollars in aid. Nana Brempong, who is the Krontihene of Adjena in the Akwamu Traditional Area, said 'we cannot run away from the fact that Ghana has for some time now become a popular destination for all manner of human smuggling and trafficking activities in the West African sub-region'. That, he added, was no doing any good to the country's image. Addressing an anti-human trafficking forum in Kumasi, he said things needed to radically change - to reverse the rising trend. The programme was organized by the Assemblies of God Church for its Ashanti East Women's Conference, with technical support from the police Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU). Nana Brempong expressed discomfort with the lack of resources to tackle the menace and said the fund set up by the government for the purpose had been struggling. He indicated that 'it is going to be very difficult for us to realize our vision under the present circumstance' and appealed for strong support by corporate bodies, institutions and individuals. Many innocent and unemployed Ghanaian youth, he noted, were becoming easy targets for criminal gangs engaged in illegal activity as they sought greener pastures abroad. The police AHTU, investigated in excess of 200 human smuggling and trafficking-related cases last year, and many of these bothered on sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. Nana Brempong highlighted the need to focus priority on youth empowerment programmes since economic hardship was one of the main drivers of human smuggling and trafficking, globally. A similar programme had earlier been organized for the Faith to Action Women's Conference, an inter-denominational women's group in Kumasi to sensitize and get the members to join the fight. GNA By Stephen Asante, GNA By Lydia Kukua Asamoah, GNA' Special Correspondent in Bonn, Germany (Sponsored by GIZ Ghana, Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ghana Chamber of Mines) Bonn, Germany, Nov 14, GNA - Mr John Peter Amewu, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, has addressed a World Bank side event on Accelerating Climate -resilient and low-carbon development in Africa at the ongoing COP23 in Bonn, Germany. He said Ghana's commitment towards climate change mitigation could be found in it various initiatives being undertaken currently to address environmental degradation. He mentioned the Redd+ project aimed at restoring the forest belt with the support of the World Bank, the Multilateral Mining Integrated project (MMIP) project adopted recently by Ghana to regulate mining to ensure sustainable mining, as well as the reviewing of its Timber Procurement law to ensure that logging of timber was done more sustainably. Other representatives from Togo, Cote d'Ivoire, and Morocco, also presented their countries contributions and initiatives towards accelerating Climate-resilient and low-carbon Development in Africa. The World Bank hosted the side-event with the support of the Kingdom of Morocco. Mr John Roome, Senior Director of Climate Change at the World Bank said ''unless we reduce low carbon we can't deal with the impact of climate change''. He therefore commended African countries for their resolve to partner global institutions to ensure that the world reduced carbon emissions and also adapted effectively to climate impacts. He said: ''the World Bank is very proud to partner with Ghana. We are very much a partner of Ghana''. And we will together find solutions to carbon emissions by either placing a price on carbons or reduce carbon emission''. The COP23, which is gradually coming to a close on Friday November 17, was opened on Monday, November 7. It is being hosted by the Republic of Fiji with support of the German Government. It has so far featured many side-meetings, activities and events, as well as exhibitions from various parties, negotiators, activists and delegates forming the 25 pop visitors attending COP23 in Bonn. The participants are expecting more commitment towards committing more funds for mitigating the impact of climate change as well as building resilience of vulnerable countries of the World. GNA The 27th edition of the African Human Rights Moot Court Competition has been launched in Accra. The all African human rights competition which is held every year would be hosted by the University of Ghana (UG) in August next year. This would be the second time UG would be hosting the forum which is for African Human Rights Law students. The competition is expected to bring into the country students and lecturers form over 75 law faculties from all over Africa. Professor Kofi Quashigah, the Dean for the School of Law, UG, said the Human Rights Moot Court competition serves as a platform where African law students discuss and debate current human rights issues. He said with the objective of inculcating in the students, at an early stage, the interest in human rights, the competition has also become a beacon of human rights for students in their respective countries. Prof Quashigah said the competition which started as an initiative in Human Rights Centre of the University of Pretoria, South Africa, was initially limited to countries of the Southern Africa Region. "Since 1996 when the Moot court was transformed from Southern Africa Regional Programme into an all African programme, the University of Ghana team has never failed to be represented. "Indeed the University of Ghana School of Law has won a number of such events including the 2017 competition which was held last October in Mauritius," he said. Prof Quashigah said Ghana has had the privilege of hosting Moot court in 2000 in Accra where Ghana won as well. He said apart from the Moot court's educational value, it would also open up the country to students and lecturers from all over Africa. Prof Frans Viljoen, the Director, Centre for Human Rights University of Pretoria, South Africa, said the Moot competition is an avenue where new generation of lawyers would be raised. He lauded Ghana for being one of the few countries to be associated with the Moot competition on the continent. Prof Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice-Chancellor of UG, said the University fully supported the decision to host the 2018 Moot competition. "We at the University of Ghana do appreciate the importance of exposure of students to the real world outside the lecture rooms and I believe that the all African Human Rights competition which has been regularly organised for a decade would provide one such opportunity for students to debate on important human rights concerns affecting the continent," he said. Prof Oduro Owusu pledged the university's assistance towards the facilitation of a smooth Moot Court programme next year. The one week programme would see students engaging in advocacy with each other at the preliminary stages, and at the end, the final Moot session would be held to determine winners. A memorandum of understanding was signed between UG and the Centre of Human Rights University of Pretoria, South Africa to commence the execution plans towards the organization of the 2018 all African Human Rights Moot Court Competition. Ms Keziah Hillary Engmann and Ms Aniela Allotey all level 300 students at the Human Rights Center UG would be representing Ghana in the competition next year. In September this year, the maiden Moot Court competition for some selected Senior High Schools in Accra was held. The 2017 pilot Moot saw St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School being adjudged as the overall winners. GNA By Elsie Appiah-Osei, GNA 15.11.2017 LISTEN The Sixth session of Ghana-Iran Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation (PJCC) underway in Accra. The two-day meeting seeks to enhance the levels of partnership and cooperation to incorporate new thematic areas of policies concerns and initiatives between the two countries. The thematic areas for cooperation include agriculture, transportation and housing cooperation. Others are political and strategic consultation, trade, investment, banking and financial cooperation. The rest are energy, mines, industry, scientific, health, cultural, defence, security and legal. Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto, the Minister of Food and Agriculture, recounted that Ghana had benefited from various forms of financial and technical assistance from Iran. He mentioned the assistance to include special scholarships and training programmes to Ghana in the areas of health, petroleum and petrochemical engineering, agriculture support projects in the northern parts of Ghana and the upgrading of the Iran Clinic into Polyclinic at Adabraka in Accra. 'The Sixth Session of the PJCC between Ghana and Iran is a further indication of cordial relations and fruitful cooperation between the two countries," he added. He noted that two Iranian companies, a cement factory and juice processing factory would be commissioned on the Aflao road and Asamankese in the Eastern Region. Dr Afriyie Akoto said the areas of cooperation would provide framework for enhancing the levels of partnership and cooperation between Ghana and Iran. He said both Ghanaian and Iranian deliberations would bring ultimate goal in all agreements and memorandum of understanding (MoUs), as technical people recommended the signing on behalf of the two countries. Dr Afriyie Akoto further urged both countries to ensure their effective implementation after signing of the MoUs. He said reports would be made availed for the mutual benefits of the two countries. Mr Mohmoud Hajjati, the leader of the Iranian Delegation, said there was the need to strengthen cooperation between the two nation; adding that this would promote economic and socio-cultural activities for the betterment of the citizens. He said the Sixth PJCC Session was a new start and step for Iran in order to deepen and expand the ways and methods of cooperation for the benefit of the two countries. He said more than 15 individual Iranians from private and corporate institutions had arrived in Ghana to invest in the various sectors of Ghanaian economy. GNA By Iddi Yire, GNA 15.11.2017 LISTEN Mr Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has been called upon to include a reconciliation report on the management of petroleum revenue in the 2018 Budget to be presented to Parliament on Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017. This requires that the Minister indicates to the House the stage of execution of all oil funded project, an action, which successive finance ministers have been faulted for not doing for seven years running against the provisions of the Petroleum Revenue Management Act (Amended) 893, 2015. Despite the violation of the law, the Legislation has not yet taken any action. In particular, Section 48(1) of the Act requires the Finance Minister to submit to Parliament a reconciliation report on the management of petroleum revenues every year. Dr Steve Manteaw, a member of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee (PIAC), has said the situation raises serious concerns about value for money on cost of ongoing projects across the country. Presenting a paper on: 'Enhancing Social and Environmental Performance on Oil and Gas,' on Tuesday at the Speaker's Breakfast Forum in Accra, Dr Manteaw said Parliament's oversight and monitoring role on the management of the nation's petroleum revenue has not been effective, which raises serious concerns on how her revenues are utilised. Dr Manteaw said: 'Since we started producing oil in this country, past and present finance ministers have not complied with that provision and giving us updates on the stage of completion regarding oil projects. 'A project conducted by PIAC revealed that a lot of the projects are non-existent. Those that are in existence are deteriorating barely after a year of completion, raising serious concerns about quality and value for money,' He called for issues of institutional inconsistencies that deal with the formulation of policies and legal framework to regulate activities in the oil and gas sector to be addressed. Parliament in collaboration with the Ghana Oil and Gas for Inclusive Growth held the forum on the theme 'Challenges in the Gold Mining Sector and the lesson for the Oil and Gas Industry; Implications for Policy in Ghana.' The forum, a feature of the activities of the House, which for some few years took a hiatus, was to provide an opportunity for Civil Society Organisations to engage Parliament on key policy regulatory issues. It is also to engage on key community concerns regarding the Extractive Industry and to provide information on key sector issues, particularly on mining and oil and gas exploration. GNA By Benjamin Mensah, GNA 15.11.2017 LISTEN The Ghana Pray Group - Pray Them In, Pray Them Out (GPG-PTIPTO), a non-denominational and non-partisan prayer platform, held the third edition of its quarterly prayer conference at the weekend with a call on Christians to pray for the nation. Pastor Sam Boateng, the President of the Group, said it was essential that the children of God prayed always for the nation to ensure that God intervened in the affairs of Ghana. Quoting the scriptures, he said: 'I exhort therefore, that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For Kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.' Pastor Boateng said: 'Praying for all men - both your enemies and loved ones, required the maturity of the children of God. If you are not a matured Christian, you cannot pray for all men because it is not an easy task'. The prayers were said under four themes including Restoration of Lost Virtues, Prayer against the Siege of Joblessness, and Prayer for Economic and Technological Advancement. Some of the ministers who led the prayer sessions were Pastor Anita Bentum Williams, the Vice President of the Group and Leader of Jesus and Rendevouz Ministry, Pastor Samuel Mensah of the Winners Chapel International, Bishop Samuel Ceazar Woode of the Christ Care International Ministry and Pastor Eric Abrahams-Appiah of the King's Generals International Church. PTIPTO is a ministry that seeks to break the unfortunate trend where Ghanaian fervently prayed for good governance and peaceful election during election periods and allow the intercessory momentum to fade away after the polls. It was launched in May, this year, with the running theme: Believing God's Best for Ghana: All Hands on Deck'. GNA By Julius K. Satsi, GNA President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday cut the sod for work to commence on the construction of 2000 affordable housing units at the Appolonia City Housing Project Site at Oyibi near Accra. The project, which begins with the construction of an initial 100 units, is a joint venture between the Ghana Home Loans and the chiefs, leaders and residents of the Appolonia Community that would lead to the development 2000 homes on a total land size of 160 acres. Prices for the housing units would start from 45,000 dollars to enable families with median incomes to access quality homes. President Akufo-Addo, in an address, said government recognised the need for Ghanaians to own their homes, noting that the project was in line with its vision of leveraging on appropriate public policy and private-public investment to deliver quality affordable social housing for Ghanaians. With a housing deficit of over 1.7 million units, the President said the Appolonia City Project was one of the several initiatives to be introduced along the housing value chain to achieve a cost effective, efficient and sustainable housing sector. He said it was heart-warming that the Appolonia Community had a stake in the project, and urged other communities to emulate the initiative. 'It is a model I want to encourage everyone to emulate,' the President urged. The President assured the private sector that his government would provide the enabling environment for businesses to flourish to drive its vision of rapid infrastructural development. He further gave the assurance that government would ensure that the project's challenges are addressed, and called on the project owners to observe strictly the rules and regulations of the sector and of the country. 'We are on the threshold of something remarkable in Ghana and I am pleased that we have those involved in the Appolonia City project as partners in our country's exciting journey,' he said. Mr Bright Owusu-Amofah, the Chief Executive Officer of Appolonia City, said the project was setting the agenda for a world-class affordable urban development. He was upbeat that it would improve the housing deficit in the country, calling on government to expand the Adenta-Dodowa Road to enable easier commuting and transportation of goods and services on that corridor. The first 100 units of the project is expected to be completed within 18 months. GNA 15.11.2017 LISTEN Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia has commissioned a thirty million Dollar cement factory at the Dawa Industrial Enclave on the Tema-Aflao road. The factory, a joint venture between Ghana and Iran, is expected to be completed in two years. Iran owns 90 percent shares with Ghana owning the rest in the project that is expected to produce some 600,000 tonnes of premium cement annually. The ceremony for the construction of the factory follows the signing of an MOU between Ghana and Iran when the Vice President visited that country earlier in the year during the inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Dr Bawumia said the project, which reflects the economic dimension of the relations between Iran and Ghana, would boost the nation's infrastructural drive, create jobs and help make the price of cement competitive. He said government would create the enabling environment for business growth to boost the economic outlook of Ghana. Dr Bawumia expressed optimism that there would be many more mutually beneficial cooperation ventures between Ghana and Iran. The Iranian Agricultural Minister Mahmoud Hojjati, who joined the Vice President perform the commissioning, expressed optimism that the project would boost the bilateral ties between his country and Ghana. GNA By Ken Sackey, GNA African leaders called this week for an overhaul in the way peacekeeping missions are handled on the continent, as the United Nations itself reconsiders its deployments in an age of cross-border terrorism. Eight of the UN's 15 peacekeeping missions are based in Africa, and several are beset by problems relating to insufficient equipment and mandates ill-suited to the countries in which they operate, while some are accused of abuses against the local population. These UN deployments are involved in some of the world's most entrenched conflicts, from rebel groups fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo to jihadists roaming northern Mali, to South Sudan, where a civil war has created more than a million refugees. The leaders of Mali, Senegal and Rwanda gathered with military officials and experts this week for the annual Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security, in which a strong desire for reform was apparent throughout the speeches and debates. "We cannot maintain peace where it does not exist, in those areas we must re-establish it," noted Senegalese President Macky Sall, whose nation is due to send 1,500 police and troops to troubled neighbour Mali at the end of the year. Mali is beset by jihadist violence and banditry in its north and centre, despite the presence of a UN peacekeeping mission for four years and a French counter-terror force. "Faced with asymmetrical violence, peacekeeping missions experience difficulties, to the point that they are sometimes forced to dedicate their resources to their own security," African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat noted at the forum. The UN's Mali mission is the world's most dangerous active deployment, with more than 140 peacekeepers killed since its launch, 89 of them by enemy action. It faces a lack of helicopters to monitor the harsh terrain of Mali's desert, and is constantly targeted at its bases and on patrol by rocket attacks and gunfire. "We don't need a peacekeeping mission, we need a peace imposition mission," quipped Marcel Alain de Souza, President of the Commission of West African regional body ECOWAS. The UN's Mali mission chief, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, said it also had responsibilities in the sectors of justice, human rights and implementing a stall peace process. "Terrorism stops us from doing our job, that's where we must find the solution," he told AFP. Elsewhere, the United Nations on Monday opened an independent investigation to determine whether UN peacekeepers responded appropriately to an outbreak of violence between May and August this year in the Central African Republic. The mission known as MINUSCA deployed in 2014 with a strong mandate to protect civilians, but beyond the current enquiry it has also been hit by a string of sex abuse allegations against its peacekeepers. MONUSCO, the UN stabilisation mission deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been accused of inefficiency, despite the world body intervening repeatedly in the country since 2003. Rights monitors have repeatedly voiced concern over killings and rape in troubled parts of DR Congo, notably in the Kasai region and North Kivu, and about harassment of journalists and political opponents. Cuts and changes These glaring gaps are all the more pressing at a moment when the United States has called for streamlining missions, becoming the driving force behind a $600-million cut to the UN peacekeeping budget this year. Ministers are meeting under the UN umbrella in Vancouver on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss potential reforms to peacekeeping missions. "Certain UN peacekeeping mission have been successful, such as in Ivory Coast and Liberia, while others have problems," said Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the UN's peacekeeping chief. "Several of our operations are based where politics moves slowly and in increasingly perilous security situations," he added. The solution, Lacroix said, was "adapting, having the best possible equipment to lessen vulnerability to attack, and to be more mobile". The future would likely evolve in the direction of the Sahel currently, where the French-backed G5 Sahel force, an anti-jihadist military initiative with troops from Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, has just completed its first operation. "Peacekeeping forces and the anti-terror fight will be complementary," Lacroix said. Folks, the much-touted Office of the Special Prosecutor should be established soon because Ghana's Parliament has enacted the bill legitimizing it. (See https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Parliament-passes-Special-Prosecutor-s-Bill-600610). The zeal and alacrity with which Parliament handled this bill is exemplary. One wishes that this lethargic Parliament could do so with other bills, especially the one regarding the Right to Information. (The work of this Office of the Special Prosecutor can be expedited/enhanced if this bill is enacted to improve access to information of public interest. Why isn't Parliament able to pass it many years after it had been initiated?). Despite the acrimony surrounding this Special Prosecutor thing, it is clear that Parliament has now set the stage for Akufo-Addo to move on with this idea as an innovation to the Ghanaian justice delivery system. How this office functions will make or mar it all. The controversy surrounding this innovation still hangs around, though. And here is why: 1. Nomenclature issues: Is this "Office of Special Prosecutor" still known by other names (such as "independent Prosecutor" or what else)? We want to know the exact designation/qualification so we can prepare for its work. 2. Special Prosecutor: Akufo-Addo jumped the gun to name his chamber-mate (Akoto Ampaw) as the Independent/Special Prosecutor even at the time that the groundwork hadn't been done for such a position to be created and legitimized. Now, there are opinions that the appointee should be chosen on the basis of "competition". So, by rushing to appoint Akoto Ampaw as such, has Akufo-Addo already undercut the system? How can Akoto-Ampaw portray himself as politically neutral, having already been tainted with the NPP colours? 3. Independence of the Special Prosecutor: A laughable nuisance!! Who in public office in Ghana can claim to be independent of the appointing authority? A huge sham to be pooh-poohed. The so-called Special Prosecutor is nothing but an errand boy to be tossed, twisted, and turned around by Akufo-Addo. In Ghana, where the system doesn't support the appointee by the "appointer", it stands to reason that any talk of "independence of thought and action" on the part of the appointee is an addition to the "Concert party" enactments going on. There are many strings already set up to make this so-called Special Prosecutor a marionette/puppet to be toyed with for political expediency. No wonder that some loud-mouths in the NPP cabal are already telling us how the Office of the Special Prosecutor is positioned in their minds to target NDC functionaries. We have heard them say that enough evidence has been gathered for them to be tried and punished as soon as the Special Prosecutor settles in the grove. Basket Mouth Yaw Osafo-Marfo said it; Kennedy Agyapong confirmed it; and Dr. Respect-seeker Bawumia reiterated it a few days ago in in his petulant rejoinder to comments coming from ex-President Mahama. So, the murkiness surrounding this Office of the Special Prosecutor is already thickening. Any credibility for it? I wonder. We already have instances of corruption by those in the Akufo-Addo government. Yet, nothing is being said to suggest that the Office of the Special Prosecutor will aim at them too. What sort of cherry-picking is this in matters of justice delivery? 4. Credibility of the Office of Special Prosecutor: Given all the issues surrounding this innovation, I wonder if there is any credibility for it. A non-starter it is likely to be. I am reminded of the Public Tribunal system that Rawlings introduced to curb crimes of all kinds in his "revolutionary" days. The Ghana bar Association chose to boycott anything having to do with Public Tribunals and sanctioned any of its member who chose to do otherwise.The Ellis Owusu Fordjours, Kofi Bosompems, Nii Okaija Adamafios, Nelson Agbesis, and others disregarded that GBA stance and worked at the Tribunals. What has become of those Tribunals belongs to history. Now, it is the turn of the Office of Special Prosecutor. History unfolding!! 5. Purview: The exact purview of this office of Special Prosecutor and the extent to which this Office will cut across the existing judicial (investigative and prosecutorial) system raises eyebrows. What is it that this Office can do that the existing system has failed to do? What is the guarantee that it will do better, anyway, given the fact that the very human and material (logistic) apparatus that exists in Ghana hasn't helped matters all these years? How to place the existing apparatus (Ministry of Justice and Attorney-General's Department) alongside this office beats my imagination. Are they to operate as parallel institutions? A mere duplication of functions? What for if not for political machinations? 5. Logistic Support: We are being told how much is to be allocated to this Office of Special Prosecutor in the 2018 budget and that its staff will enjoy immunity. Why give preferential treatment to this amorphous entity and neglect the established authority for justice dispensation in Ghana (Ministry of Justice and its analogous institutions)? CONCLUSION By passing this law, Parliament has plugged itself into the equation. I wish that it would do so in other areas to prove its worth. Thus far, it has turned out to be a laughable institution that is a drain on the tax-payer's sweat, toil, and blood. Ghana deserves better. To Akufo-Addo and Co., let me say that the enactment of this law isn't an occasion for chest-thumping or celebration because the battle hasn't started at all. Whether the Special Prosecutor will succeed or not depends to a large extent on the "Ghanaian psyche"---and we know what goes into politicking in Ghana when it comes to matters verging on corruption. If you honestly need my guarded opinion on what is unfolding, I will simply refer you to the Rawlings master plan of "unprecedented revolutionary action" hat Akufo-Addo and the Nyaho-Tamakloes were part of till now that they have found a point of departure because "things are knocking things"? No more!! I shall return A landmark decision on the establishment of an Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group to realize farmers rights was recently taken by the seventh session of the Governing Body (GB7) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA; also known as the Seed Treaty). There was stiff opposition from countries from the global North and the seed industry, who argued against that there was already a working group, under the Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that was addressing farmers rights. However, this group has never seriously considered farmers rights since the Seed Treaty was adopted in 2004 more than 13 years ago. At its meeting in Rwanda from 30 October to 4 November 2017, delegates from many of ITPGRFAs 144 contracting member states and over 40 observers including farmers organisations and civil society organisations came together to discuss the theme: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Role of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Included on the agenda were: Enhancement of the Functioning of the Multilateral System for Access and Benefit Sharing, Farmers Rights, Enhancement of the Funding Strategy of the International Treaty and Global Information System; with a new contentious item on Digital Information Sequencing (DIS). Photo Credit: IISD at http://enb.iisd.org/biodiv/itpgrfa/gb7/images/2nov/IMG_5246.jpg It cannot be emphasized enough that the realization of farmers rights forms the cornerstone of the implementation of the Seed Treaty. The realization of farmers rights is equally important for the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by governments in September 2015 under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development especially Goal No. 2: end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture. However, implementation of farmers rights has been extremely problematic. First, according to the Seed Treaty, the implementation rests with the contracting parties to the Treaty, and thus is neither obligatory nor clear-cut more broadly; and secondly, the current wave of seed and plant variety protection (PVP) laws and policies being pushed onto developing nations totally undermine farmers rights. The PVP laws routinely operationalize Article 15.2 of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 1991, which prohibits and/or severely restricts farmers from freely exchanging and selling farm-saved seeds and propagating material of protected varieties. Worse still, new seed policies in Africa criminalize, vilify and disregard farmers rights to sell, exchange and display uncertified seed. Just recently, a press release announced the Malawian governments prohibition against exhibiting farmers own varieties at seed fairs. Some countries, like Tanzania and Kenya, are already members of UPOV 1991, while others, like Mozambique, have changed their laws to conform to UPOV 1991. These laws stand in sharp contrast to the contributions that farmers and their communities have made and continue to make towards conserving and developing plant genetic resources. In addition, traditional knowledge and farmers rights to participate equitably in benefit sharing and national decision-making about plant genetic resources have been limited over the years. New technologies that are emerging through DIS also pose imminent threats. Corporate breeders are now able to use genetic engineering technologies, such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR), to edit DNA, access genetic sequence data pertaining to genetic resources, convert this data back to DNA or RNA and use it in living organisms. Genetic sequence data can be accessed on the internet or in an e-mail, which means that it may no longer be necessary to access and exchange the physical genetic resources/biological materials. Crop traits can be accessed in this way, as well as genes that encode for active compound in medicinal plants, and used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. DSI gives rise to the possibility of accessing genetic resources without prior informed consent and in the absence of a benefit-sharing agreement, which would undermine several international agreements, including, in particular, the third objective of the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, and the Seed Treaty. Indeed, we will go so far as to say that current benefit-sharing regimes may be rendered redundant as we go into the future, particularly those of the Nagoya Protocol and Seed Treaty. These concerns and many others have already been highlighted to the Secretary of the Convention on Biodiversity by the African Centre for Biodiversity and many other civil society organizations. Through a proposal by the African group, the GB7 adopted a resolution on DSI that was included in the ITPGRFA Multi-Year Programme of Work. The recommendation under the resolution is to consider the potential implications of the use of DSI at the eighth session of the Governing Body in 2019. In the meantime, the Secretariat will compile its views on the issue. This provides time for more research to understand the risks, and for farmers and civil society to strategize. Contributions from farmers and civil society organizations influenced the entire Seed Treaty process in Kigali, and the implementation of farmers rights took center stage in discussions. Farmers and civil society organizations sat through nerve-wracking, long and tiring negotiations, in small contact groups and the larger plenary sessions. The meeting finally decided to establish an Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Farmers Rights, which will develop guidance on farmers rights implementation for contracting parties. This is seen as a major victory for small-scale farmers and civil society organizations working to promote and defend the farmers rights enshrined in Article 9 of the Seed Treaty. The newly created Expert Group will comprise of up to five members designated by each region; up to three representatives of farmers organizations, particularly from the centers of origin of plant genetic resources and crop diversity; and up to three other stakeholders, including from the seed sector. It will have its own clear terms of reference and, among other things, will produce an inventory of national measures, best practices and lessons learned from the realisation of farmers rights and develop options for encouraging, guiding and promoting the realisation of farmers rights, as set out in Article 9 of the Treaty. The GB7 also made a recommendation to the Seed Treaty Secretariat that it invites contracting parties to consider reviewing or adjusting national measures that affect the realization of farmers rights, in particular regulations concerning variety release and seed distribution. This, too, is a step in the right direction and it is encouraging to note that the value of farmers varieties and farmer-managed seed systems are gaining a modicum of international recognition. All in all, the outcome of the meeting has gone a small way towards restoring some credibility to the Seed Treaty and its implementation, after years of tireless efforts by farmers, farmers organizations and civil society. It offers a glimmer of hope that the decisions made and further work will influence policy changes that are currently impeding farmers rights in Africa and elsewhere. The eighth session of the Governing Body will be held in 2019. In the meantime, farmers and civil society organizations must be on the lookout for any developments under the Seed Treaty and seize opportunities to participate, via consultations, on farmers rights, while at the same time trying to push at a national level for the adoption of some recommendations by contracting member states. * Gertrude is the Country Coordinator of Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Zimbabwe and Sabrina is an outreach and advocacy officer with the African Centre for Biodiversity and is based in Tanzania. They formed part of a small delegation of African civil society organizations who attended the Kigali meeting. https://acbio.org.za/smallholder-farmers-score-victory-international-seed-treaty-meeting/ Global media relations consultancy and press release distribution service in Africa (APO Group), headquartered in Switzerland has extended an invitation to Ghanas foremost sustainability news portal [www.sustainabilityactive.com] to become one of its partner media outlets in Africa. A mail signed by APOs Content Partnership Manager, Laurent Caplea (Europe office) and sent to the Editor-in-Chief of [sustainabilityactive.com], Mr. Dela Ahiawor on November, 2 ,requested that Sustainability Active accept a content partnership deal with APO (apo-opa.com). This was followed by a telephone call from Mr. Caplea to Mr. Ahiawor explaining the terms & conditions, benefits and an offer of assistance to help [sustainabilityactive.com] implement APOs widget and (www.Africa-newsroom.com) feed. If you accept to implement our widget feed, you will become our partner and all our clients will be notified. Mr. Caplea wrote. After its due diligence, [sustainabilityactive.com] led by Mr. Dela Ahiawor accepted to join the APO Partners board, by thanking Mr. Laurent Caplea and the APO Group-particularly, for the heartening confidence reposed in [sustainabilityactive.com] as a worthy news brand to partner in Africa. After accepting the invitation, APO requested for Sustainability Actives logo to be circulated to all their clients and partners around the world. Your website will be available on each continent and will bring you publicity. Our aim is to bring you traffic and adverts from our clients. Mr. Laurent Caplea added. On the other hand, Sustainability Active promised to help promote APOs work and activities in Ghana and beyond. By this arrangement ( www.sustainabilityactive.com ) joins the growing list of APO Group Partners in Africa. This includes: News of Africa, The Nigerian Voice, African News Wire just to name a few. Asked whether the invitation from APO was a surprise, Mr. Dela Ahiawor intimated that he was least surprised. Actually, I saw it coming because we publish a lot of guest content from companies, experts, Scientists, editors, journalists and bloggers outside the shores of Ghana. We are inspiring greater awareness for environmentalism and sustainability in our part of the world; and companies like APO Group have noticed our effort from afar. He also urged other companies to follow suit. We are a force to reckon with when it comes to Sustainability Communication in this part of the world. About Sustainability Active. [SUSTAINABILITY ACTIVE.COM] is powered by Gloved Consult, media relations and sustainability communications firm in Ghana. Its dedicated to reporting news, views and thought leadership on sustainable business and sustainable (green sports) in Ghana, Africa and beyond. Without any doubt, sustainability active is the foremost sustainability (eco-friendly) news brand in Ghana and the whole of West Africa. www.sustainabilityactive.com 15.11.2017 LISTEN Former President John Agyekum Kufuor has encouraged young Ghanaian and African writers to write books that would help shape the thinking and perceptions of the younger generation. Former President Kufuor said this when he launched a book titled, Conversations with My Father authored by renowned veteran journalist, Ajoa Yeboah-Afari in honour of her late father, Mr Boahene Yeboah-Afari, Ghanas first Agriculture Minister and first Brong-Ahafo Regional Commissioner, in Accra. The former President entreated researchers, students, educational institutions and individuals to patronise the book since it was educative and would positively impact on the society. He described the late Yeboah-Afari as a pragmatic personality and a pioneer in politics who started his political career as a socialist, but later became an accomplished entrepreneur and contributed his quota towards Ghanas socio-economic development. He commended the author for honouring the memory of her father and described her as a strong and principled lady who had contributed towards the development of the Ghanaian media. Former President Kufuor purchased the first copy of the book for GHC10, 000. The 300-page book encapsulated the countrys political and leadership challenges and key personalities that were involved in the independence struggle. Professor Kwame Karikari, the Founder and former Executive Director of the West African Media Foundation, who reviewed the book, stated that there had been upsurge of writing of biographies in recent years because of the countrys stable political climate and the culture of the freedom of expression. He said the book provided a peep into the physical, political and cultural make-up of the country over the decades from the1930s to post-independence era. You get a feel of the stage and progressive advances of social and infrastructural development of the country over the decades, anti-colonial movements and key personalities involved in the countrys freedom march, he noted. Prof Karikari said the book provided a clear picture of the untiring life of patriotism of the late Yeboah-Afari over a period of four decades. The book also captured the biography of the late Yeboah-Afari, the son of the late king of Dormaa in the Brong Ahafo Region, and the tough times he experienced in accessing basic education at childhood. It recounted how young boy, Yeboah-Afari, travelled long distances to neighbouring community to attend school coupled with political intimidations from the colonial administration. It captured the political life of young and energetic Yeboah-Afari who was a founding member of the United Gold Coast Convention and later joined the Convention Peoples Party in the independence struggle. The narrative also provided insight into Yeboah-Afaris contributions to the countrys socio-economic development under the CPPs government. The authors father, apart from being the first Ghanas Agriculture Minister, also served as the Chairman of the Town and Country Planning who signed the site plan and designing of the Independence Arch. The book brought to the fore the authors expert art work and the style of conversation in the form of questions and answers format, which was uniquely captured in vivid geographical words and, therefore, making the script for easy and fascinating reading. Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, the immediate past Chairman of the Electoral Commission, who was the guest speaker for the occasion, recalled some fascinating personal experiences with his late cousin, Yeboah-Afari. Dr Afari-Gyan described his cousin as a trustworthy person, simple and straightforward, with the gift of encapsulating a very serious matter into a humourous physiology. He is a family man who is committed to the welfare of the wife and children and a strong believer of the value of education and willing to help people to go to school. He is very trusty and easily forgiving and was born to look for a silver lining in a situation and always ready to give people the benefit of the doubt, he noted. The book can be purchased at a cover price of GHC100.00 in all popular bookshops across the country and Ghana International Press Centre in Accra. The event brought together some media gurus including; Madam Elizabeth Ohene, a former BBC Correspondent, Professor Anso Kyeremeh, a media consultant, Mr. Lloyd Evans, President of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists, academicians, traditional rulers and family members of the author. The book was published by Digibooks Ghana Limited. The American Bar Association went on trial as the accused at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. The hearing centered on the ABA's judgment that Steve Grasz is "not qualified" to fill a seat on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas appeared to raise a question about the future role of the ABA in evaluating judicial nominees for consideration by the committee. "The notion of a nonideological organization is belied by its conduct," Cruz said, pointing to what he said was "clear bias in its evaluation" of Grasz, an Omaha attorney who served as chief deputy attorney general for Nebraska from 1991 to 2002. Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse aligned himself with Cruz, suggesting the ABA is "a liberal advocacy organization (that is) masquerading as a neutral, objective evaluator." There were clear indications that the committee will be sending President Donald Trump's nomination of Grasz to the floor of the Senate for confirmation on a strictly party line vote. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California suggested claims of ABA bias fall flat when one considers the organization has rated 49 of Trump's 53 judicial nominees as qualified or well-qualified even though many of them had "deeply conservative views." But Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the committee chairman, countered "it is quite clear that the ABA is not an independent, nonpartisan organization." Pamela Bresnahan, a Washington attorney and chair of the ABA's standing committee on the federal judiciary, occupied the hot seat at Wednesday's hearing. "It's a peer evaluation," she told the senators, a judgment as to whether a nominee "can be open-minded and be fair." "The primary focus is freedom from bias," Bresnahan said. "His peers were concerned he could not divorce judging from his personal views." "We're not here to become a political arm to anybody," she said. "If you choose to ignore it, you ignore it, (but) we think we get it right most of the time." A Memorandum of Understanding [MOU] has been signed between the Ghana Investment Promotion Center [GIPC] and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority [SADA] to facilitate investments promotion in the three northern regions of Ghana. The MOU has among other things the objective to develop a one-stop information platform that will provide expanded, in-depth local support and up-to-date information to investors keen to explore investment possibilities on offer in the area. In her address, the Minister for Special Development Initiatives, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson described the agreement as a unique opportunity for the two government institutions to share experiences on best practices. The MOU, Madam Hawa Koomson further noted offers both SADA and the GIPC the opportunity to effectively collaborate to enable the country achieve the objectives of its transformation agenda within the shortest possible time. She reminded Development Authorities of their key roles in investment promotion through the implementation of their planning, resource mobilization, development coordination and infrastructural projects implementation especially under the Infrastructure for Poverty Eradication Program [IPEP]. The Minister said it is for this reason that Development Authorities effective collaboration with GIPC is imperative to the optimization of investment. She therefore called on the two institutions to work closely to enable Ghana achieve an accelerated socio-economic transformation. The future envisaged for the next generation is one that must be sustainable, inclusive and innovative which can only be achieved through high level investments she added. On his part, The GIPC Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Yofi Grant, welcomed SADAs approach to partner his outfit saying SADA is ready for business and the GIPC is equally ready to provide its help in pulling potential financiers and businesses into the area to bolster the regions economy. He added that the northern part of Ghana has vast arable land suitable for agricultural and agro-processing investment and therefore challenged Ghanaian businesses and entrepreneurs to make use of the opportunities being provided by SADA to invest in the catchment areas. The GIPC Boss mentioned that the government has the responsibility of ensuring the survival of the private sector to create jobs for the people as such his outfit has created an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, create jobs and generate incomes for the people. He mentioned education, railway and infrastructural development as some of the potential areas of investments that abounds in the SADA catchment areas where both local and foreign investors can take advantage of. The railway project of the government Mr. Yofi Grant emphasized is a key investment area that will open up the north with the southern part of the country through to other West African nations especially the Sahelian landlocked countries which deserves particular attention from potential investors. In his welcome address, the SADA Boss, Mr. Charles Abugre, was hopeful the partnership will be successful and looks forward to having similar partnerships with other state institutions such as the Ghana Free Zones Board amongst others. He announced that SADA will soon be replaced with the Northern Development Authority [NDA] but the roles will remain the same As part of the agreement, the GIPC will market the investment projects developed by SADA to both local and foreign business communities. Both entities will also plan and implement investment promotion missions, road shows, forums both locally and internationally. GIPC and SADA will also undertake joint research and feasibility studies on making the area a more attractive and available to broaden the landscape for investors, as well as methods to reduce and remove constraints to investment through policy and incentives. In a recent incident in the United States, yet another unarmed man was shot dead by police after opening his front door in response to their knock. The police were going to serve an arrest warrant on a domestic violence suspect the mans neighbour but went to the wrong address. See Police kill innocent man while serving warrant at wrong address . For those who follow news in the United States, the routine killing of innocent civilians by the police has become a national crisis despite concerted attempts by political and legal authorities and the corporate media to obscure what is happening. See Killed by Police and The Counted: People killed by police in the US . So far this year, US police have killed 1,044 people. In contrast, from 1990 to 2016, police in England and Wales killed just 62 people. See Fatal police shootings . Of course, these murders by the police are just the tip of the iceberg of police violence as police continue to demonstrate that the freedoms guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment have been eviscerated. See What Country Is This? Forced Blood Draws, Cavity Searches and Colonoscopies . So why are the police so violent? you might ask. Well, several scholars have offered answers to this question and you can read a little about what they say in these articles reviewing recent books on the subject. See The Fraternal Order of Police Must Go and Our Ever-Deadlier Police State . While there is much in these works with which I agree such as the racism in US policing and the corruption of the legal system which is used to violently manage oppressed peoples in the name of justice while leaving the individuals, banks and corporations on Wall Street unaccountable for their endless, ongoing and grotesque crimes against society, the economy and the environment I would like to pose a deeper question: Why are police in the USA so terrified? This is the important question because only people who are terrified resort to violence, even in the context of policing. Let me explain why this is the case and how it has occurred in the police context in the USA. Violence does not arise out of nowhere. And, sadly, its origin can be traced to what is euphemistically called the socialization of children but which is more accurately labeled terrorization. You might think that this sounds extreme but if you spend some time considering the phenomenal violence visible, invisible and utterly invisible that we adults inflict on children during the ordinary course of the day see Why Violence? and Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice while deluding ourselves that we are preparing them to become just, decent and powerful citizens, then you might be willing to reconsider your concept of what it means to nurture children. Tragically, we are so far from any meaningful understanding of this notion, that it is not even possible to generate a widespread social discussion about how we might go about it. So, having terrorized children into submission so that they unthinkingly and passively accept their preordained role in life to act as a cog in a giant and destructive enterprise which they are terrorized into not questioning and over which they have no control each of them takes their place in the global economy wherever they can find a set of tasks that feels least painful. The idea of seeking their true path in order to search out their own unique destiny never even occurs to most of them and so they lead shadow lives endlessly suppressing their awareness of the life that might have been. Some of these individuals end up as recruits at a police training facility, where they are further terrorized into believing an elite-sponsored ideology that precludes genuine appreciation of the diversity of people in the community they will later police (that is, terrorize) in the name of law and order. After all, elite social control is more readily maintained when people, including the police, live in fear. Police training further terrorizes the individuals involved and militarizes policing by encouraging recruits to adopt a warrior mentality and think of the people they are supposed to serve as enemies; the equipment they use, such as battering rams, flashbang grenades and Armoured Personnel Carriers, evoke a sense of war. See War Comes Home: The Excessive Militarization of American Policing . But it doesnt end with terrorization during childhood and then police training. Police practice functions within a long-standing cultural framework which has both wider social dimensions and narrower, localized ones. And this cultural framework has been changing, more quickly in recent years too. Unfortunately, more than ever before, this framework is increasingly driven by fear and older, delusional social expectations that police are there to maintain public safety or defend the community from criminal violence have given way to militarized assumptions, language and procedures that regard virtually everyone (and certainly indigenous people and people of color) as both dangerous and guilty until proven otherwise and treat the family home and car as targets to be neutralized with military-style tactics and weapons. And this trend has been accelerated under Donald Trump. See Trump to lift military gear ban for local police . By triggering fear and using military-style tactics and weapons, however, the very essence of the relationship between police and civilians is more rapidly, completely and detrimentally transformed in accord with elite interests. It equates law-enforcement with counter-terrorism and community safety with social control. Fundamentally, of course, this plays its part in ensuring minimal effective resistance to the broader elite agenda to secure militarized control of the worlds populations and resources for elite benefit. This transformation in the relationship between police and civilians has been accelerated by training US police in the use of military tactics that the Israeli military employs against the occupied Palestinians. See Israel trains US law-enforcement in counter-terrorism . But consider the implications of this. As Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University, has noted in discussing this phenomenon: US police are learning paramilitary and counterinsurgency tactics from the Israeli military, border patrol and intelligence services, which enforce military law. If American police and sheriffs consider theyre in occupation of neighborhoods like Ferguson and East Harlem, this training is extremely appropriate theyre learning how to suppress a people, deny their rights and use force to hold down a subject population. See US Police Get Antiterror Training In Israel . Moreover, the most tangible evidence that the militarized training is having an impact on US policing is that both Israel and the US are using identical equipment against demonstrators, according to a 2013 report by the Israeli human rights organization BTselem and photographs of such equipment taken at three demonstrations in the USA. Tear gas grenades, triple chaser gas canisters and stun grenades made by the American companies Combined Systems Inc. and Defense Technology Corp. were used in all three U.S. incidents, as well as by Israeli security forces and military units. See US Police Get Antiterror Training In Israel . Given the sheer terror that drives Israeli military policy towards occupied and militarily undefended Palestine, it is little wonder that this fear is transmitted as part of any training of US police. All knowledge and technology is embedded with emotion, and fear is utterly pervasive in any military activity. Especially when it is directed in defense of unjust ends. So what can we do? If you are interested in working to reduce police fear and violence, you will get plenty of ideas in the document A Toolkit for Promoting Justice In Policing which is summarized here: 15 Things Your City Can Do Right Now to End Police Brutality . If you want to organise a nonviolent action while reducing police fear to minimize the risk of police violence, there is a comprehehensive list of guidelines here: Nonviolent Action: Minimizing the Risk of Violent Repression . If you want to work towards ending the underlying fear that drives police (and other) violence, consider making My Promise to Children . In essence, if you want powerful individuals who are capable of resisting elite social control, including that implemented through police violence, then dont expect children terrorized into obedience by parents, teachers and religious figures to later magically have this power. And if you are inclined to resist violence in other contexts, consider participating in The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth , signing the online pledge of The People s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World and/or using the strategic framework explained in Nonviolent Campaign Strategy for your peace, environmental or social justice campaign. Why are the police so terrified? Essentially because they were terrorized as children and then terrorized during police training to violently defend elite interests against the rest of us. Elite control depends on us being too terrified to defend ourselves against their violence. If humans are to survive this elite-driven onslaught, we need people courageous enough to resist police violence and other elite-driven violence strategically. Can we count on you? Biodata: Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of Why Violence? His email address is [email protected] and his website is here . In a recent interview with Emmanuel Aziken of the Vanguard newspaper, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was asked if he was bothered that those who championed the election of President Buhari were complaining that they had been abandoned and that members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were now the ones literarily in government. His answer to that question was not only revealing. It went a long way to underscore some of the skewed policies that governments in Nigeria have adopted over the years which have continued to stall the march towards true democracy. Mr Mohammed said: I know many states where people are complaining that it is not those who ought to be compensated that were rewarded by government. But again, it is not possible to compensate everybody at the same time. Certain boards are not due for dissolution because some of them are tenured while some are governed by certain rules. In answer to another question, the honourable minister said: Clearly, in politics they say never empower your enemy. Starting from there, what this means is that generally Nigerian politicians tend to view their political opponents who do not share with their visions or policies as enemies. Again, this is the wrong thing to do. The politicians must realise that the umpire should be the voter and whoever the voter chooses is the right person, in the absence of election rigging which is beginning to phase out of Nigerian political history. Talking about board appointments, could Mr Mohammed have been suggesting that board memberships have now been reduced to the level they have become a form of compensation for work done by party members during electioneering campaigns? If that is the truth, where then does the APC government place the interest of the nation at large? It is obvious that boards are essential government tools for the delivery of the dividends of democracy. But when the idea is to compensate party faithful and not to enhance the living standards of the ordinary Nigerian, the policy becomes questionable. With a policy aimed at compensation of party members, what criteria does anyone have to believe that those boards would be free from corruption and would be accountable to the voting masses? And here is government shouting from the roof top about its commitment to eradicating bribery and corruption in the country! All these years, I have quietly watched Nigerian politicians campaign. But I have never seen or heard of their campaigns that are based on FAMILY. Politics should not be about the wealth that comes from oil and the numerous other resources that this country is endowed with. Politics should be about the people, about Nigerians, about Nigerian families. That is when the politicians will have a clear head as to what is expected of them. But in all fairness, the blame for the seeming failure of Nigerian politicians to deliver effectively cannot be fully laid at the doorstep of the politicians. In a great measure, much of the blame should go to the voters themselves. Politicians who are voted into public offices are voted to represent members of their constituencies. They are voted to cater for the interest of the families that come under their constituencies. They are expected to serve their people. And in that case, they are paid from the peoples public fund to serve and not to be served. But when the voters reverse the standards and get paid by the servant, of course they automatically turn the servant into the master. Naturally, it is the master who pays the servant. The servant does not pay the master. By asking for or taking money from aspirants to public offices, the voters sell their rights for a pot of porridge. And afterwards, they turn around to blame the politicians. Why, in the name of the ancestors, would they do a thing like that when they are the ones at fault? Nigerian politicians do collect constituency allowances. But what they do with the money, only God knows. In more developed democracies, they have constituency offices and staff. They have surgery days one or two days in the week when they are met by members of their constituencies who have any form of financial or social problems. They sit down and patiently listen to their constituents complaints. And they do whatever they deem necessary to sort them out of their difficult situation. That is what Nigerian politics should be about the people, Nigerians and Nigerian families. And talking about Nigerian families as the mainstay of political activities in Nigeria, the recent media reports of a highly educated man like Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El Rufai sacking or proposing to sack as many as 22,000 teachers for failing competence tests leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. That President Buhari supported such a move even goes to show the mediocre calibre of state actors that are now operating the national robot called government. At a time the unemployment rate in the country is extremely high and the APC government of General Buhari is finding it difficult to grapple with the many social and economic challenges that face it, one would have thought that especially someone like El Rufai who passed through Harvard University would have seen a need to believe in and utilise man power training in a situation like this. In modern times we all know the need for re-training while on a job. Some call it upgrading or updating. Others call it in-service training. So, those teachers did not need to be sacked. They needed to be re-trained to do better on their jobs. So, El Rufai got it all completely wrong. He never thought that those people he sacked or was about to sack had families and relations who depended on them. What would happen to them after their carers have been thrown out of job? How do these families cope with life? Honestly, I think I agree with Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on this. As soon as the news of the sack or proposed sack went public, the governor quickly made his view known. He mocked President Muhammadu Buhari for backing the Kaduna State governors plan to sack the 22,000 teachers who were said to have failed competency test. Fayose who is the current Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum said it was sad that Buhari, whose government promised to create jobs for Nigerians, is in support of throwing the teachers into the labour market after causing the collapse of several companies and the subsequent loss of millions of jobs in the private sector. Fayose warned that the Presidents position was a pointer that labour leaders in the country should prepare for mass sack of workers by the APC government at both the federal and state levels. Fayose said that by openly supporting the sack of about 22,000 teachers in Kaduna State, President Buhari has approved loss of jobs as the official policy of the All Progressives Congress (APC) instead of creation of three million jobs per year that the party promised Nigerians. Although Fayose himself has had serious challenges with paying his workers as at and when due, honestly, I think I agree with him on this one. Whether we call it governance or government, it should be all about Nigerian families and how they are faring. Those Kaduna teachers should be recalled. They deserve to be re-trained, not sacked. Factually, Ghanaians take delight in celebrating the dead more than the living. However, a country that fails to honour her patriotic citizens when they are alive, is not worth dying for. As such, this blog creatively coined by Adu Sarpeah is dedicated to the celebration of Linsford Kwabena Asare popularly known as Otwinoko, the greatest radio personality ever to steer the console in the Ashanti Region and beyond over a decade ago for his selfless sacrifice and love for the country on the radio job is unprecedented. Till today, no single radio presenter in Ashanti Region has able to surpass the fan and listening base enjoyed by him he is simply the greatest presenter ever to evolve from Oseikrom! Otwinoko is being defined by his exceptional voice and his ability to convey complex ideas that resonates with a wide audience. Otwinoko is the only radio personality whose voice and talent is still recognised by millions! Otwinoko started his mainstream mysterious lifestyle programme at Mercury 91.5FM (now New Mercury 91.5FM). The mysterious programme was christened Nsm Pii, was geared towards delving into spiritual issues affecting humanity. He had his turning point when a certain Yaw Donkor murdered Marfo, a palm wine tapper at Nyninahini (The capital of Atwima Mponua District in the Ashanti Region) and the issue was brought to light as a result of Otwinokos investigative intelligence on the job somewhere 2004. The truth behind the death of Marfo was revealed through Otwinokos effort which catapulted his fame and helped him to get the highest mileage in his time. A record no other presenter has able to break for he still remains the presenter who enjoyed the greatest listening audience in Ashanti Region between the hours of 7pm-10pm during the working days of 2000 through to 2010. This was essentially the bridge on which Otwinoko walked into the iconic face of radio presentation in Ashanti Region till now. After working for Mercury for more than half a decade, he moved to Nhyira 104.5MHz and the name Otwinoko did magic for the then newly established station. At Nhyira, he changed the name from Nsm pii to Ewiase Mu Nsm with increased number of listening whenever it was time for him to steer the console. Although, his stay at Nhyira 104.5MHz was short-lived upon failure of the management to renew his contract based on reasons best known to the then management. Whatever the case, life must go on, he, therefore, moved to Fox FM to continue his legacy. His work attracted every radio and television station management at that time. His movement from Nhyira FM to Fox FM caused a lot of mayhem and legal issues between the presenter in question and his former management-Nhyira FM. Simply because Otwinoko wanted to move to Fox FM with his programmes brand name dubbed, Ewiase Mu Nsm which the then management of his formal station vehemently opposed. The controversies compelled him to opt for the name Nya Asm Hw at Fox FM instead of the latter. The unfortunate development continued to take a new twist as he was silenced along the line with unexpected chronic illness which made him hibernate from radio for a long time. Sadly, Otwinoko became visually impaired after battling with the mysterious illness for years. Grace and glory be to God that Linsford Kwabena Asare better known as Otwinoko is still on radio after several attempts by some friends and radio colleagues to finish him had proved futile. Truly, for him to be alive today is just by the grace of God as he was injected with a poison that made him lost the hairs on his body, nails, skin and went blind afterwards. This was in an attempt to hinder his God given potential. He is currently at Accra based Hot 93.9FM as the host of the popular Nya Asm Hw which is aired from Monday to Friday between 7pm-9pm. Also, he is the host of Reggae School on Saturdays between 1pm-3pm which seeks to explain reggae vibes to the understanding of the grandparent in the village. As a result of his good work and exemplary life, Yaw Sarpong, a renowned gospel musician in Ghana, has composed a song in honour of Otwinoko which is titled Ma Wn Nka. The lyrical content of the heartfelt song composed by Yaw Sarpong in honour of Otwinoko captures his ordeal for the past years. Sudanese security forces have freed a Swiss aid worker who was kidnapped in Darfur last month in an overnight operation in the war-torn region, a Sudanese official said Wednesday. Her abduction was the first such reported incident in Darfur since the United Nations began scaling back its peacekeeping force in the region earlier this year. The release of the aid worker, whose identity has not been revealed by Sudan or Swiss authorities, comes as the UN Security Council meets on Wednesday to assess the downsizing of the peacekeeping mission in Darfur. "Agents of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services carried out an overnight operation and freed the Swiss aid worker from near Kutum" in North Darfur state, its deputy governor Mohamed Barima told AFP. The Swiss authorities confirmed her release. "Her health, given the circumstances, is good," the Swiss foreign ministry said in a statement. "The Department of Foreign Affairs is relieved by this positive development and thanks the Sudanese authorities for the strength of their engagement." A security source in Khartoum said the aid worker would be brought to the Sudanese capital later on Wednesday. Unidentified men on October 7 kidnapped the Swiss national, who had lived in Sudan for many years, from near her residence in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The Sudanese authorities did not say who had abducted the aid worker. The kidnapping came despite repeated claims by Sudanese officials that the Darfur region was now safe as the long-running conflict there had ended. Aid workers in Darfur have regularly expressed concerns about their safety following the decision to downsize UN forces in the region. Peacekeeping troops often escort humanitarian staff to remote areas. In July, a UN official said that UNAMID, a joint African Union and United Nations peacekeeping force, would reduce the number of its troops in the region, citing a fall in violence. The UN force was deployed after a brutal conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003, which the United Nations says has killed about 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million. The conflict erupted after ethnic minority rebels took up arms against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's Arab-dominated government. They accused Khartoum of marginalising the Darfur region economically and politically. Most of the displaced live in camps, after escaping fighting between government forces and rebels. The latest abduction adds to an already lengthy list of foreign and Sudanese aid workers who have been kidnapped in the region in recent years. Last year, three UN refugee agency workers were abducted by armed men in West Darfur state. The workers, two Nepalese and a Sudanese, were later released. 15.11.2017 LISTEN World Water Council, CoP23, Bonn, 15th November, 2017 Water connects sectors, as they all need water to operate sustainably. The inextricable linkages between water, energy and food require a holistic approach ifwater and food security, sustainable agriculture and sustainable energy production are to be ensured. Inter-linkages are compelling governments, the private sector, communities, academia and other stakeholders to explore integrated solutions. This approach eases pressures and helps explore development avenues based ona sustainable and efficient use of limited resources. This interlinking approach requires continued dialogue between the different communities, highlighting the significance of forums like the CoP23 and the upcoming World Water Forum in March 2018 in Brazil, in order to meet the Paris Agreement goals. Optimal water management and investment in water infrastructure requires a top-down and bottom-up integrated strategy. Therefore, local solutions for local problems are often most suited to meet water challenges, as highlighted by Aziza Akhmouch Acting Division Head at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Cities that are resilient are actually cities that fix upstream their water problems. The profound knowledge and mindful resource management for seamless adaptation already exists. It simply requires being shared across sectors as a means to best confront the adverse effects of climate change. It is increasingly evident, for example, that efficient water usage in agriculture is possible. Up to 70% of water is consumed by agriculture, compared to 20% by industry and 10% for domestic needs. The agricultural sector, through shared information, could follow best practices pioneered in unrelated areas by applying shared experiences. We would be wise to apply lessons from across the world, even traditional rural populations in Africa or Asia, which have the potential to inform innovative, sagacious and responsible resource management, to adapt our planet to climate variations onslaught. The knowledge is there, we just have to listen and tap into it,explains Maggie White, Manager International Policies, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), Co-Chair, Alliance for Global Water Adaption (AGWA) and Steering Committee Member of the #ClimateIsWater Initiative. Loic Fauchon, Honorary President of the World Water Council (WWC) which coordinates the #ClimateIsWaterinitiative, moderated the outcomes discussion from the Water Action Day. He indicated that, Innovative technical solutions are key to have better and cheaper solutions that drive global water security. He further underscores, The political obligation of cooperation on all levels--from local to basin-wide, to city level, national and international level in governance, financing and knowledge sharing--this should translate to enhanced efficiency in optimized integrated water management and should be complemented by horizontal collaboration between all sectors including the 5 main ones: water, energy, food, health and education. He continues by saying that, In order to ensure water security, government agreements are needed: A global pact under the UN umbrella to provide a further framework for implementation of the climate change goals and commitments and for financial engagements from development banks and funds, but also local pacts and agreements, per water basin and per metropolis. Creative solutions for sustainable agriculture under a changing climate necessarily carry water at their core:drought resistant crops, improved salt tolerance of different crop varieties, enriched seed varieties, developed cultivation practices such as conservation agriculture, improvements in soil organic carbon, organic practices. By sharing specialised experience and wisdom across the agricultural, hydro and energy arenas, climate-smart solutions have the potential to be three times as effective. And the most recurring factor in this equation is water dependency and vulnerability. Some of the smartest applications of sustainable farming come from countries and regions such as the south of Morocco or Pakistan, to name just a few, which are naturally poor in access to water from rainfall and riverbeds, comments James Dalton, Coordinator, Global Water Initiatives, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Climate change impacts freshwater availability, but the greatest impact is made evident in how we manage precious resources. Water scarcity is not the only issue; mismanagement is. To this end, we need to tackle how water is distributed globally. Despite Brazil, to mention an example, being home to nearly one fifth of the worlds fresh water, Sao Paulo, recently lived through one of the biggest crises in its history when it experienced an unparalleled drought. Furthermore, at this very moment, droughts are also being experienced across the world in places like the northern U.S., Australia and even China. In Puerto Rico, the opposite is true. Despite a horrific flood following a mega storm, less than half of the islands population had access to drinking water, highlights World Water Council President, Benedito Braga. Infrastructure financing plays a crucial role in mitigating and adaptating to adverse effects of climate change. Access to funds for projects that make safe water available requires multilateral agreements and pooling financing from development banks, sovereign wealth and blue and green funds. Access to funds is a paradox for vital water-related projects that need to fulfil certain criteria to access the funds, comments Eric Tardieu, Technical Secretary, International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO). We need to match the market with investment needs. Furthermore, more analytical work is needed on the effects of non-investment, continues Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). Collecting data is also a challenge for the global water community, which needs to share lessons and exploit technology in order to create a water-secure world. Value-added access to education about climate impacts, agriculture, energy and water management would help generate new awareness among professionals and withininstitutions. Crucially, womens roles and experience must guide any implementation process. Involving both women and men in decision-making and integrated water resources initiatives leads to better sustainability, governance and efficiency. Women should be seen as key allies and a crucial element in sustainable behavioralchange in climate adaptation, explains Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, President of Women for Water, World Water Council Member and spokesperson for the #ClimateIsWater Initiative. Transition towards combined knowledge on agriculture, energy and water is necessary to secure food and nutrition, to maximise sustainable energy models, and to alleviate water stress. This is the only real response to climate change that can ensure water, food and energy in a sustainable climate-resilient world by 2050. Our food future is intertwined with our water future. And energy moves everything else. Indeed, the sustainable use of water for multiple purposes must remain a way of life and needs to be at the centre of building resilient cities orhuman settlements and ensuring food security in a climate change context, summarises Mariet Verhoef-Cohen. To further advance the water agenda with concrete answers to the current and future challenge of water security for peace and sustainable development will be the theme for the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar in 2021,shares Abdoulaye Sene, President of the National Organizing Committee for the 9th World Water Forum in 2021,which will take place in Senegal. When I went to Ethiopia to adopt my son, I asked his biological mother why she was giving him up, shares John Matthews, Coordinator and cofounder of the Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA). Because I know there will come a day when I would have to decide who gets the last drop of water, him or me. And I want him to live. If we dont join efforts and knowledge to mitigate and adapt to climate change, this is a choice all of humanity may one day face. 15.11.2017 LISTEN Sunyani Technical University (STU) chapter of the Tertiary Students Confederacy of the New Patriotic Party (TESCON) has embarked on a clean-up exercise at the Sunyani Municipal hospital to rid filth that has engulfed the hospital. The theme for the exercise was; Adding Voice to Maintain And Keep The Sanity Level In Sunyani And Its Environs. TESCON members started the clean up exercise at the STU premises, with a health walk to the Sunyani municipal hospital where various sorts of cleaning exercise which includes: weeding and clearing of the weeds, picking odd materials from the hospitals premises, sweeping, removing of cab webs and chocked gutters and other activity that tidy up an environment were performed at the hospital. Sunyani Technical University,TESCON President Mr. Abdul Razack,Speaking to Sunyani based radio Ahomka 90.5 FM, revealed that, the intention of the exercise was to help support and maintain the sanity level of Sunyani and its environs, as well as projecting the positive image of the hospital,"since Sunyani has been one of the neatest city in Ghana". "We did this to support 'Keep Sunyani Clean Campaign',initiated by Sunyani Traditional Council, which amid at rid the city of filth and bring back its beautiful scenery which was named SUN CITY he added. "This would not be the first and last, but would be extend to various places like the Brong Ahafo regional Hospital in Sunyani, and to the township of the Sunyani municipality just to make sure the citys integrity of been the most cleanest city in Ghana is maintain" he stated. He however commended the Brong Ahafo regional minister, Lawyer Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh, the Member of Parliament for Sunyani East who doubles as the Majority chief Whip Hon Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh and Darlington Bill Boapong the Brong Ahafo regional youth for hopeful, for their massive involvement before and during the exercise. He urged the youth who have not had the chance to join TESCON and NPP at large to as a matter of urgency come to the team if only they really love Ghana and have the country at heart. The Environmental Health officer for the Sunyani Municipal hospital Mr. Kwaku Nti Ameyaw, commended the TESCON body and tasked them not rest on their horse until good sanitation prevail in the country. He charged other groups,like keep fit Clubs, teams, schools, communities, churches and mosques to learn from what the members have exhibited since cleanliness silence deceases, improve health condition and increase productivity in the country. Meanwhile,Mr. Darlington Bill Boampong,who has showed interest to contest NPP regional youth organizer position, stressed that since cleanliness is said to be next to Godliness, he could not sit to see such awesome work out overtake him hence the need to join is imperative. He said the youth under the NPPS canopy working out to ensuring good and personal hygiene in the country is a clear indication that the Party has a strong future and added that they should continue to do more to help bring into being Nana Addos vision to ensure good sanitation in the country. Mr. Darlington commended Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC) for his incredible contribution in the region and nonetheless promised that he is committed to help the youth attain employment when he voted into power as regional youth organizer. He assured the youths in the country to exercise peaceful since the one district one factory , the cocoa mass spraying is underway to bring great quantity of jobs as assured by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwaa Akuffo Addo. Intercity State Transport Corporation (STC) of Ghana has introduced its Accra-Lagos service in partnership with Nigerian transport firm, A&G. The move is to facilitate the transportation of persons and goods between Ghana and Nigeria, starting with a fleet of 10 buses. It is envisaged that the two companies will introduce special cargo services as well in the near future to demonstrate their commitment to promoting trade in West Africa. Speaking at the launch of the service on Friday in Accra, Managing Director (MD) of STC, Nana Akomea, explained that the partnership between his outfit and A&G was in the right direction. According to him, it was aimed at helping to integrate the West African sub-region by providing alternative means of mobility. He therefore urged travelers in Lagos and Accra to patronize the service by the company, saying it will help to truly integrate the sub-region. Ernest De-Graft Egyir, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana SMEs CEOs Summit, says a 6.3 percent growth rate in the country failed to reduce poverty and improve SMEs. Speaking to BUSINESS GUIDE in an interview recently, he disclosed: We live in a country where 92 percent of businesses are SMEs, and yet the growth of the country is not inclusive. So you have a GDP for instance of 6.3 percent and yet poverty is still endemic which tells you that growth is not inclusive. The CEO said SMEs, which constitute 92 percent of businesses in Ghana, are not employing people the way they should due to what he termed disconnect between economic growth and job creation. In view of this, a number of top CEOs of leading businesses in Ghana are expected to deliberate on the growth prospect for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) come November 20 at the maiden edition of Ghana SME CEO Summit Forum and Expo slated for Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra. It is themed: 'Scaling Up SMEs for Inclusive Growth: The CEO and Government As Drivers. It is expected to bring together about 300 SMEs, government officials, including the Ministers of Trade and Industry, Business Development, Alan Kyerematen and Ibrahim Mohammed Awal respectively. According to him, the country's overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 6.3 percent was a classic case of growth that woefully failed to be inclusive. There are many SMEs events in Ghana but we still believe that there should be a flagship event where the policymakers and the private sector SME CEOs will interact and so envisaged the Ghana SME CEO summit to be a flagship SME platform for decision-makers and practitioners to learn together, share ideas and to build business networks among themselves, he said. Notable among the CEOs billed to speak on various topics during the event are Moses Baiden of Margin Group, Yolanda Cuba of Vodafone Ghana, Joseph Siaw Agyapong of Zoomlion Ghana Limited and Charles Larbi-Odam, Deloitte Ghana. Sen. Deb Fischer called upon Alabama's embattled Republican Senate nominee Roy Moore to "step aside" in view of growing accusations of past sexual contact and misconduct with teenage girls. "His explanations are not sufficient," Nebraska's Republican senator said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Washington. Asked if she agrees with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's judgment that "I believe the women," Fischer said: "I would agree." Alabama voters will elect a new senator to succeed Attorney General Jeff Sessions at a special election Dec. 12. Moore has been leading Democratic nominee Doug Jones in pre-election polling, but Jones moved out front in a new poll this week. Fischer noted that sexual assault has been an issue she has focused on as a member of the Senate, pointing to her successful legislative efforts to address sexual assault in the U.S. military. Currently, she said, she is co-sponsoring a bipartisan bill to require sexual harassment training for members of the Senate and their staffs. Meanwhile, Democratic Senate candidate Jane Raybould suggested Fischer has been slow to condemn Moore. In a campaign fundraising email message on Tuesday, Raybould said: "The fact that Deb Fischer won't condemn Roy Moore is an embarrassment to our state." Fischer will be seeking re-election to a second term next year. Meanwhile, Fischer announced her proposed legislation designed to expand family work leave benefits to lower-to-middle-income Americans, including hourly workers, has been incorporated into the Republican Senate tax reform package. "This is a big step toward enacting the first nationwide paid-leave policy in U.S. history," she said. "My goal has always been to balance the workplace challenges of employers with the needs of 21st century working men and women," Fischer said. "By encouraging flexible work arrangements, this proposal would allow workers to take leave on an hourly basis so they could care for a sick child or take an elderly parent to a doctor's appointment. "It also would cover maternity and paternity leave for biological and adoptive parents," she said. The legislation provides a 25 percent tax credit for employers to help defray the costs of providing paid leave benefits. Fischer said she believes the Republican tax reform bill will be passed by Congress before the end of the year. Her priorities, she said, are to provide a middle-class tax cut and enact tax reform that is "good for small businesses (and) for businesses active in a global market." As for concerns the plan could add an estimated $1.5 trillion or more to the national debt in the next 10 years, Fischer said the proposal should stimulate economic growth that could sharply reduce that figure. TD Mobile, a new distributor of mobile devices and accessories, has been launched in Ghana. A number of dignitaries, including the Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh, Lithuania's Ambassador to Ghana, Joseph Syne and some Ministers of State were at the launch. Managing Director of TD Mobile, Gozy Ijogun, was hopeful the launch will deepen the rate of technology diffusion and mobile device penetration in the country while increasing healthy business competition among industry players. We are extremely delighted to extend our operations to Ghana which remains one of the most prominent markets in West Africa sub region and also about our appointment as exclusive distributors of Nokia Mobile phones in the country, she stated. According to her, Ghana has a predominantly youthful population and stable political system. We are happy to create jobs for the people, contribute to the national economy, as well as engage in a number of social events which will further improve living standards. Our expectations are rife for an astronomical rise in smart phone penetration which currently hovers around 21% in Ghana, she stated. Ijogun was happy that the company has entered into a major agreement with HMD Global to be sole distributor of Nokia Mobile devices, including the much-anticipated Nokia 6 and new version of iconic 3310. Joseph Umunnakwe, HMD Global General Manager, West, East and Central Africa, said that the partnership will yield positive results for the partners, users and country at large. We welcome you all, distinguished guests and men and women of the media. The functional executives of concerned Citizens of the Volta region wishes to inform the general public and our zealous rank and file that our anticipated peaceful demonstration slated for 17th November 2017 against the creation of a new region in the Volta region will come off as scheduled. We are all expected to gather at Ho market by 8:30 am, and take off at exactly 9:00 am. We will follow the rout through K.K House to service center, continue to Goil filling Station to the last top of VRCC where we will present our grievances to the government and hold a press briefing. Dress code for the demonstration is Red. The Police have been contacted and they have assured us of maximum security. We are very much aware of Volta Region being a multiparty democratic Region and have lived as such, and therefore we are expecting all participants to strictly observe or resort to our dress code, RED, and dress accordingly in other to avoid wearing of political colors or anything in resemblance of any political party. In pursuance of our Constitutional rights, we wish to lay emphasizes on the fact that this exercise is aimed for peace and any action contrary to ensuring peace and harmony before, during and after the exercise would greatly be regretted. For this reasons, mechanism for ensuring peace throughout the exercise have been put in place, participants are encouraged to followed this safety measures throughout the entire exercise to avoid becoming a public charge. Ghana being a beacon of democracy in sub-Sahara Africa can truly be reflected when marginalized minority group like us are offered uninterrupted space for our voice to be heard. With that, we are calling on the government of Ghana, various democratic bodies, the Ministry of interior, the office of the IGP and the entire Ghana police service to offer us the free space and the needed security to safeguard our protection against external forces while we embark on our anti-violence demonstration. We are for peace and we meant peace. Failure to guarantee our safety, would be tantamount to exhibiting incompetence in the country. Our intelligence gathering have proven that there are some individuals nursing violence against our intended exercise. We are hereby asking them peacefully to put stop to it, such behaviors should not have place in our society, its dent our democratic fabrics and questioned our Rule of Law. Nothing can imperil the future of our country Ghana, than having the principles of democracy and the right to peaceful protests willfully undermined. We are however encouraging all citizens of the Volta Region, both home and abroad to hold on tight to our faith, continue to show patriotism to our Region, remembering those who came before us, while we match with a unified front to speak for the land. We march for prosperity of the land, we march for the integrity of the land, we march for the future of our children, we march for the generation yet unborn, we march to end hunger in our land, We march for the liberation and emancipation of the land, we march to refuse to be marginalized and being a minority and above all we march for restoration, equal treatment and respect. For the bond that binds us together is stronger than the crows that pull us ascender. Come in your numbers on the 17th of November 2017 as we demonstrate to show the world that we are citizens and not spectators. Thank you. Dully Signed: Alornyo Bidahor (Chairman) Raymond Nukpor (Secretary) 02444339571 Yevugah Daniel (PRO) 0200308542 The fourth prosecution witness in the trial of the suspected murderer of Adams Mahama, the former Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has been discharged by an Accra High Court. Defence counsel yesterday ended his cross-examination of Tofic Mutala, the fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial. The witness, led in evidence in chief by Mathew Amponsah, a state attorney, told the court circumstances that led to the gruesome murder of the former NPP Chairman. He told the court that the late chairman, before his death, told him that Gregory Afoko and one Alandgi Asabke, who is currently on the run, poured the acid on him. But the defence team for Afoko, led by Osarfo Buabeng, rejected the evidence, saying the late Mahama, who was said to be in pain prior to his death, could not have spoken to the witness. The defence also rejected the witness's statement that the late Adams spoke to the police and the nurses who attended to him. At yesterday's sitting, the defence counsel asked the witness how the cup got to the crime scene, but the witness said he had no idea, adding that the police discovered the cup on the floor with the residue of the supposed acid poured on the deceased. The defence put it to the witness that the deceased never spoke to him or anyone else at the hospital, suggesting that the witness was not telling the court the truth. Tofic Mutala, however, rejected that assertion, maintaining that the deceased asked him to take proper care of his wife and children and asked to be buried in his village after his death. The case has been adjourned to December 7, 2017 to enable the prosecution to present its fifth witness. Gregory Afoko, a farmer, is alleged to have killed Mr Mahama. Afoko is being held on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime to wit murder and murder. He has pleaded not guilty before the court, which also comprises seven members of the jury. While growing up in the deep countryside, at Jinjini, near Berekum in the Brong Ahafo Region, one day I saw an inscription boldly written at the back of a passenger bus NEW KING NEW LAW. I was young then, and a pupil in the elementary school. I did not understand it. New King, New Law? Does it mean that anytime the King is changed, the law also changes? Is the King the law? What then is the law? The whims and caprices of whoever is the King? I lived with this confusion until October 1974 when I entered the faculty of Law at University of Ghana to read law. Professor SO Gyandoh told us, the first Year students, that the law is in the bosom of the Judge..does it mean on the same facts and the law, two Judges are likely to give two different judgments? The situation got worse when in our third year, Tsatsu Tsikata, lecturing us on Jurisprudence told us that some people say that all laws are commands of the sovereigns; others say law is traceable to a basic law and others say law is a tool in the hands of the ruling class Reader, what then is the law? Even though I have been going to court daily for thirty one years, save the days when I was a Minister, if you ask me Captain what is law in all frankness, I will not be able to give you a simple answer. This explains why most lawyers end up as politicians. We see in the courtroom daily that law means what the powerful man has said. Period. As a commonwealth country, Ghanaian lawyers and judges dress almost like British Judges; and lawyers bibs, gowns, wigs. For a long time standards went down, until Peter Ala Adjetey became President of the Ghana Bar Association. He got the General Legal Council to insist that lawyers dress professionally to court, and one day I was in court, 1988, when Peter Ala Adjetey, President of the Bar, openly challenged a High Court Judge for granting audience to a lawyer who was not in wig and gown. And so the norm became wearing wigs and gowns in the superior courts the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and the High Court. Some Chief Justices were very particular and others could not be bothered, until finally, around 2010, or thereabout, the wig disappeared. A directive was given; the Supreme Court Judges should wear bibs and gowns, but discard the wigs. I did not understand that directive. Was it designed to demystify the law? Or to break the cultural links with the commonwealth? Or to conform to modernity? If Supreme Court Judges are not wearing wigs, then of course, Court of Appeal Judges, most of them bald headed, are not too. And then High Court Judges especially the women some of them looking so cute, smart and at times very provocative!!! A few too known High Court Judges kept on wearing the wig and insisting that lawyers who appeared before them wear wigs; at times very embarrassing. Until Georgina Wood retired and we got a new Chief Justice, in the person of Her Lordship Justice Sophia Akuffo. Under the new Queen, a new law rang out, effective 1st November, ALL superior Court Judges MUST wear wigs!!! I felt very embarrassed when I entered the High Court One, Cape Coast Monday 6th November, to see the Judge, fully robed and ALL lawyers, fully robed, wearing wigs. I was only in black suit, so I had to run back to my car to wear at least the gown and to profusely apologise for not wearing a wig. I entered the Court of Appeal Tuesday to see over twenty lawyers seated, everybody in wigs, and their lordships, presided by Mariama Owusu JA, all in wigs. Wow!! New Queen, New Law!! The advantages of wearing a wig far outweigh the advantages of not wearing them. First of all, the wigs are the most pronounced symbol of our noble profession as lawyers. As for the black suits, anybody can wear it, but the wigs, only lawyers wear them. Besides, wearing wigs clearly betray the Junior lawyers their wigs look so fresh, so neat, while the wigs of seasoned lawyers look so weather beaten for years of continuous usage. Again, when our clients see us robed, wearing wigs, and arguing in Court for them, they will be more inclined to pay the amount you charge them. Good show, Sophia Akuffo. So far, so good From Nkrabeah Effah-Dartey The Pharmaceutical Society of Ghana (PSGH) has called on Ghanaians to desist from using non-prescribed antibiotics. The society disclosed that it was imperative that the public sought advice from a pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional before taking medicines, especially antibiotics. It is important for all of us to see antibiotics as very scarce and valuable resource which must be treasured, protected and must require expert advice before taking, a statement signed by PSGH President, Pharm. Ben Botwe, said. Pharm. Botwe explained that the development of new medicines without behavioural change will continue to lead to antibiotic resistance, adding that the treatment of other infectious diseases like pneumonia was taking longer and costing more with increased mortality. He said antibiotic resistance is not only a global health challenge but also threatens global food security since most of the antibiotics used in animals are used in humans, there is the added risk of increasing antibiotic resistance in human or cross resistance with antimicrobial used in humans. Pharm. Botwe explained that if care is not taken to accelerate universal awareness of the magnitude of the problem and concrete steps taken to reverse the development of anti-biotic resistance, mild infections and minor injuries could become fatal. This is leading to increased morbidity and mortality in the rearing of animals with threat to global food security, he said. The statement was in commemoration of the World Antibiotic Awareness Week (WAAW) themed: 'Seek Advice From A Qualified Healthcare Professional Before Taking Antibiotics'. PSGH, thus, joined their voice to the call for the responsible use of antibiotics, noting the alarming increase in the development of resistance by disease-causing microorganisms to previously potent antibiotics. The PSGH calls on regulators to continue the enforcement of regulations in the supply of restricted medicines. We call for stringent control of antibiotic use in veterinary medicine as well as restricted use amongst animal and fish breeders, he said. 15.11.2017 LISTEN Germany once known as the country of the Poets and Writers with great cultural contributions from Johann Sebastian Bach, Beethoven, Wernher von Braun and his team to bring NASA off the ground and humans walking on the moon, German Moncks inventing Beer as a mean to cheat on GOD during fasting, Gottfried Benz, Partner in the company Mercedes-Benz, inventing the first car ever, Martin Luther liberating Christian mind and bring the Good News (Bible) to the masses, a country of Otto von Bismarck making peace in Europe ending generation long wars and much moreis nowhere to be found anymore. The Germany as today is in shamble, a ghost once of a great nation others were able to look up to and benefit from for their own development, a center of excellence in all walks of life, never perfect with serious mistakes as human life is never a smooth ride at all, but in the end among European and worldwide Nations a country rich in ideas for humanity more so than for economic values like visible in USA and Silicon Valley. Out of good cultural and humanitarian ideas and spirits over time good economic results emerge and see the light of the day for generations to benefit from. What is created out of a profit set mind is successful for the moment, what is created out of a stable and long lasting spirit having the improvement of humanity at stake, is a mind, a spirit that transforms the world for the better of all inclusively generations to come. When Munich/Bavaria/South Germany is setting up Emergency Shelter to house young and ambitious students, Germans and foreigners alike, that private people must step in to offer rooms, a German must feel ashamed of a country that once gave lifes understanding to a vibrant mind looking out daily around the world for the better and better idea to improve human life. I am still in shock and remember what my Prophet said in January 2017, that Germany is down. Having had my reservations back than but feeling the shock in all my bones of what I have observed in 4 days visit to Hamburg now, it makes me know the prophecy was right not on the financial front, but Germany as a society is down and out, even as it seems that all of European societies have fallen from their posts once sitting proud on to rule the world. It makes me believe and convinced more and more, that GOD in his almighty wisdom has opened the door to rule the world now for Africa. For the next 60 or so years until the soil of Africa will get finished from rich natural resources, when Africa uses this short time window and transforms the economies and societies, they by the cheer enormous numbers of young people to be born have a realistic chance to take over and rule the world. Certainly the white spirit knows this already for which reason they come with interventions into Africa to mess the continent up, use their emotional and spiritual weakness, cause confusion massively only to be victorious in the fight for rulership of the world. When Africans are not improving on their mind and become clever and smart as a continent as people and see what the real intentions of the white spirit is, only to make them survive just above water level but not to stand on water and enjoy true and real happiness in life and their generation, then walking half way through the opened door of history, this door will fall back painfully slapping into the faces of Africans and make them fall injured to the ground for hundreds of years to come with server suffering while the White Man will have to pick up the bits and pieces of the injured and harmed Africans putting financial constraints on their economies, but culturally and politically given them dominion over the Africans for good. Africa, are you ready to take over and see the time has come to change and position yourself well so that you are ready to fight the bad mind of the white spirit? See behind the nice words of the Good people from Europe that donate to you and keep you instead really in bondage of depending on their spirit, their inventions and their future. Whites want to determine the amount of bread crumbs of human life they are willing to share with you, instead you should be the baker and eat the whole bread loaf. Africa, only when you listen to the good and right man of GOD and change as they want you to change, you will rule the worldor go under for good. The White Man will never help you to succeed, he will help you to survive, and for that it is only in your own hands to determine your future and fortune. Wake up, as your time is now to take over. Author: Dipl.-Pol. Karl-Heinz Heerde, Sakumono, Tema West, Ghana, phone +233(0)265078287, [email protected] , 12.11.2017 15.11.2017 LISTEN A Voluntary Education Fund is being set up by the Akufo-Addo-led government as part of moves to rally Ghanaians to willingly support the education sector. The Education Ministry, according to the Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, is working closely with the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GET Fund) to fine tune the modalities of the Voluntary Fund. Presenting the 2018 Budget Statement and Economic Policy in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Ofori-Atta disclosed the Voluntary Education Fund will enable Ghanaians make voluntary contributions to support education. The government has already launched its Free Senior High School education policy to absorb the tuition, feeding and other related fees in the education sector. According to Mr. Ofori-Atta, the Capitation Grant was increased by 100 percent from GH4.50 per capita to GH9.00, in fulfillment of Government promise to make basic education free and ensure participation by all. He added that the implementation of the Complementary Basic Education (CBE) Programme is in its fourth cycle and operational in 43 districts of the three (3) Northern, Brong Ahafo, and Ashanti Regions. The CBE will be expanded to 14 more districts to benefit an estimated 40,000 out-of-school children in 2018. Free SHS Programme commenced in September with first year students in public Senior High Schools and Technical and Vocational Institutions. Government absorbed all fees approved by GES Council for 353,053 first year students. The programme will continue with the second batch in 2018. Government restored the Teacher Trainee Allowance to cover over 49,000 trainees from 41 public Colleges of Education for the 2017/18 academic year. A projected 52,000 Trainees will benefit from the Teacher Trainee Allowance in the 2017/18 academic year, the Finance Minister noted about the education sector. Accra, 13th November, 2017, HFC Bank Ghana, a subsidiary of Republic Financial Holdings Limited has been recognised as the Best Pension Custodian Bank at the Ghana Accountancy & Finance Awards held on the 3rd of November, 2017 at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel, Accra. The Award is in recognition of the Banks enormous contributions in the Custody Services including Trade Settlements, investments collections, cash collection services, detailed valuation reporting and twenty-four hours turnaround time of customer complaints and enquiries. Commenting on the recognition, the Acting Managing Director of HFC Bank Ghana, Mr. Anthony Jordan said that the Bank appreciates the delicate nature of the pensions business and has as such, invested heavily in the state of the art IT infrastructure to help run its Custody operations. Mr. Anthony Jordan also believes that beyond the state of the art infrastructure, the professional, tailor-made and unparallel customer service offered by the Custody Services department contributed to the Banks recognition. He therefore took the opportunity to recognize the work by the Custody Services Unit led by Elias Augustine Dey. Since the setup of the Custody Services Unit five years ago, the team has worked very hard to significantly grow their assets base to become a leading investment and pension custodian in Ghana serving Blue-Chip companies in the country he noted. The Acting Managing Director of the Bank thanked the individual and Institutional Customers for the continuous trust and custodial relationship with the Bank. HFC Bank is the most diversified Bank in the country with services ranging from Retail Banking, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Banking, Corporate Banking, Investment Banking, Custody Services, Brokerage and Microfinance. HFC Bank, as one of the leading mortgage service providers in the country, is also leading the way in the provision of pension-backed mortgage to meet the teeming demand for mortgages within the pension space. HFC Custody Services was set up in 2012 under the Ghana Stock Exchange and also licensed by the National Pension and Regulatory Authority as Pension Custodial Services. Over the five years, the Custody Services Unit has grown to become a leading investment and pension custodian in Ghana, serving some of the Blue-Chip companies in the country and a number of leading Public Institutions The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta has stated that confidence in the banking sector has not waned despite the recent take over of the UT and Capital banks by the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB). In August, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the licenses of the UT and Capital banks, describing them as deeply insolvent. Liabilities of the two banks, according to the central bank overwhelmed their assets, leaving the BoG with no option than to undertake a Purchase and Assumption transaction as the least costly method of dealing with a collapse. The banks were unable to develop an acceptable plan, according to the BoG although it made efforts to help both banks recover through private alternatives. The Central Bank said there were repeated agreements between the Bank of Ghana and UT Bank and Capital Bank to implement an action plan to address these significant shortfalls. However, the owners and managers of UT Bank and Capital Bank were unable to increase their capital to address the insolvency. Finance MInister, Ken Ofori Atta delivering the 2018 budget statement in Parliament Mr Ofori Atta said the BoG had to step in and address the challenge that both banks posed to the entire financial system by facilitating the take over by the GCB Bank. This intervention was made with the clear policy intent to protect deposits of the public and prevent any contagion effect on the entire industry. The government is proud to announce that despite the failure of these two banks in 2017, the confidence and trust in the financial sector remain strong, he added. He said all banks are expected to meet the new minimum capital requirement as stipulated by the BoG for universal banks from GHS120 million to GHS400 million by December 2018. The increase in the capital requirement, he stated, was to ensure that banks have more capacity to lend to businesses, especially within the purview of their single obligor limits. Government streamlined ESLA flows to accommodate all the existing legacy debts about GHS10 billion owed by the energy sector firms to banks and suppliers, and took steps to issue an ESLA-backed bond to pay off these debts. This initiative is very important in resolving the liquidity challenges faced by the banks and will enable stronger credit to the private sector especially as banks non-performing loans improve. Mr Ofori Atta said the government has also prepared the payment systems and electronic transfer bill to support the transition from cash dominant to cash light economy. In 2018, this Bill will be laid before Parliament, he added. Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Naa Sakwaba Akwa | [email protected] Accra, Ghana 15th November, 2017: The management and staff of Vivo Energy Ghana have embarked on their annual Shell Customer Contact Day to thank customers for their loyalty and patronage with a number of giveaways and to solicit their feedback. This years Customer Contact Day was created under the theme Winning with customers through continuous engagementand on this day Vivo Energy staff interacted with customers at the forecourt, offering services including filling their tanks, cleaning windscreens and sharing goodies withthem, as well as engaging customers for their feedback. In an interview, the Managing Director of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Ebenezer Faulkner said great companies are the ones that get and stay ahead by engaging their customers regularly through several contact points, all with the purpose of enriching the relationship. The Shell brand in Ghana could not have been successful for the past 89 years without a long term relationship with our customers. Our products are consumer-led and driven by our passion to exceed the needs of our customers. We will continue to make our customer experiences at our Shell service stations memorable. said Mr. Faulkner. In addition, Mr. Faulkner said that Vivo Energy will continue to be at the forefront of driving innovations, providing high quality fuels for all pockets, high quality convenience shops, strong customer service, brand preference, and food partnerships to continue to be part of our customers lives. A highly satisfied customer who visited the Airport Shell service station had the following words to say: The older the wine the better it tastes. We have known Shell for so many years for its quality products and services. No wonder every fuel station in Ghana is referred to as Petrol Shell. I want to encourage Shell to keep up the good work. For his part the Retail Manager of Vivo Energy Ghana, Mr. Kwame Ackah used the occasion to encourage all motorists to buy GHS60 of fuel from Shell to stand a chance of winning the over 75,000 prizes and a brand new sleek Hyundai Grand i10 taxiat stake in the Shell Filling No Y3 Deep promotion. Six drivers who have signed on to the Shell Drive Challenge on the Shell App were also rewarded with free fuel for emerging as the most efficient drivers on the Shell Drive Challenge a programme aimed at encouragingdrivers to drive efficiently, and also which gives free tips on efficient driving to cut down on fuel consumption. Vivo Energy continues the expansion of Shell service stations across the country to make them more accessible to customers. The recent opening of the state of the art, Haatso Shell service station, with partners such as KFC, MBJ Pharmacy, Exotic trends, and ATM Farms is testament to the convenience that the company want to bring to its customers. About Vivo Energy: With a vision to become Africas most respected energy business Vivo Energy Ghana, the company that distributes and markets Shell-branded fuels and lubricants, was established in 2013. The Shell brand has been in Ghana since1928. Vivo Energy Ghana has a fuels storage capacity of 11,000m and 215 service stations, with many offering Shell Cards and convenience retail stores. Vivo Energy Ghana employs 147 people. The company is recognised as a leader in the oil industry, championing and setting standards for safety. Vivo Energy provides high quality solutions for motorists and businesses in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, Tunisia and Uganda. Its retail offering includes fuels, lubricants, card services, shops and other non-fuel services (e.g. oil change and car wash). For businesses it provides fuels, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to business customers across a range of sectors including marine, mining, and manufacturing. Jet fuel is sold to customers at 23 airports though a partnership with Vitol Aviation. The company employs around 2,360 people, operates over 1,800 retail service stations under the Shell brand and has access to approximately 900,000 cubic metres of fuel storage capacity. Shell and Vivo Lubricants has blending capacity of around 124,000 metric tonnes at plants in six countries (Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, and Tunisia) producing Shell branded lubricants. David Rippe, executive director of the Hastings Economic Development Corporation, was named Tuesday by Gov. Pete Ricketts to be director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development. Rippe will succeed Courtney Dentlinger, who is leaving the post to become government affairs manager for the Nebraska Public Power District. Rippe will take over the state position Dec. 18 and receive a $142,000 annual salary. "Dave brings broad experience with both the state and local economic development community here in Nebraska," Ricketts said. "During his time in Hastings, he helped secure new investments, with expansions at Ag Processing Inc., Thermo King, Eaton and Dutton-Lainson Company," the governor said. Rippe has worked to advance downtown revitalization efforts in Hastings and has helped lead the community's talent and workforce development initiatives, Ricketts said. Earlier, Rippe served as an economic development consultant in business recruitment for the state Department of Economic Development. From 2005 to 2008, he was a fiscal analyst in the legislative fiscal office. Ricketts said he believes Rippe's knowledge and relationships "will help Nebraska's economic development team bring more good-paying opportunities, attract new investment and grow Nebraska's brand nationally and internationally." Rippe said Nebraska has "a tremendous workforce, great quality of life and a positive business environment." All of those are "attractive traits to potential businesses looking to relocate, expand or invest in Nebraska," he said. From next year, residential and non-residential electricity consumers will enjoy 13 percent reduction in their tariffs. During his second budget presentation Wednesday, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta disclosed that government is working on a number of interventions to relieve consumers. If government recommendations to Public Utility and Regulatory Commission (PURC) are accepted, consumers will be expected to benefit from reductions in electricity tariffs, he said. Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta Mr Ofori-Atta explained that the reduction is to give relief to the poor whose individual consumption actually falls in the subsidised life-line category but who live in a compound house, the existing 4-tier tariff classification of residential consumers will be collapsed into Lifeline and Non-Lifeline consumers in phases. From 2012-2016, the country was faced with load shedding locally called dumsor, which affected a people as well as businesses. There were loss of jobs, reduced economic output and the loss of consumer and investor confidence in the economy. Some shops had to procure generators Aside from the load shedding, the situation was worsened by high electricity tariffs, ultimately increasing the cost of doing business in the country. During the 2016 election campaign, candidate Akufo-Addo promised that with prudent management of the economy, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government would ensure that electricity tariffs are reduced. In fulfilment of this promise, government has reviewed the tariff setting methodology and cost structure of power production. This review has resulted in recommendations that will be made to the PURC for consideration, he said. Some people had to use candles to finish their homework According to the Finance Minister, in 2018, government efforts will be geared towards keeping the lights on at affordable rates to consumers, particularly industries and small businesses through reform and policy interventions over a two-year period. The electricity tariff structure will be realigned with governments developmental goals of industrial transformation, growth and job creation, he added. African Court Judges 15.11.2017 LISTEN Accra, Nov. 15, CDA Consult The African Court on Human and Peoples Rights has touted judicial dialogue among those who administer justice and oversee compliance with constitutional orders and the rule of law as critical for the development a country. Judicial dialogue is even paramount against the well-known background that without justice, peace can only be fragile; and without peace, development is an illusion. I remain strongly convinced that, in the construction of open and democratic societies that support human development around the world, dialogue is key, Justice Sylvain Ore, African Court President stated at the first international symposium of the Association of Asian Constitutional Courts (AACC) and Equivalent Institutions, South Korea. I therefore have no doubt that our engagement will yield the most benefiting outcomes for the strengthening of judicial and social dialogue. The fact that you have as an Asian judicial network invited the African Court to be part of this venture is the sign that dialogue is the key and can thrive only if it surpasses regions, cultures or political systems, Justice Ore noted. The African Court President therefore congratulated the AACC Secretariat for Research and Development for such a great initiative. Justice Kim Yi-Su, Acting President of the Constitutional Court of Korea, hosted the symposium, was attended by Chief Justices and Justices from the Asian Region. Newmont Ghana has announced plans to go underground with a 150 to 200 million dollar expansion project on the Subika pit in the Ahafo Mine to increase its commercial production from 150 to 200Koz in 2018. Meanwhile, there is also an ongoing massive expansion on the Ahafo Mill which is estimated at 140 to 180 million dollars to boost production from 75 to 100Koz in 2019. Addressing members of the Journalists for Business Advocacy (JBA), who were on a tour of its Mine sites, the General Manager of the Ahafo Mine, Daniel Egya Mensah said the new projects when completed will increase the capacity of the existing plant from 7 to 10 million tonnes per annum. The development of the Subika pit will largely supply the ore to feed the new processing plant. Subika is one of the projects we are embarking to increase our capacity as a mine and business. The Subika Underground mine is going to produce the ore therefore, we are increasing the capacity of these plants to take care of the extra capacity that is coming from the underground mine. Currently we are operating with one mining pit but going forward the underground mine which is our flagship project will increase the existing capacity, the General Manager stated. Mr. Mensah added that the foundation for the Crusher plant has already been laid whiles civil works for the Miller has commenced. According to him, their efforts to bring these projects on-stream demonstrate their sound business strategies and stable portfolios which will not only ease the pressure on the existing plants but meet future forecasts. He emphasized that the initial capital investment has increased significantly from $500 million in 2002 to a current 3.2 billion dollars for both Ahafo and Akyem gold mining operations. Mr. Mensah indicated that out of the current total investment capital, Ahafo mine which started operations in surface mining in 2006 constitutes 1.92 billion dollars. As the Second Best Taxpayer in 2016 by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) under large taxpayer office, he stressed that out of the total of 78 million dollars paid to Governments, 36 million dollars were royalties while the remaining 42 million dollars went into payment of taxes. Taxes, royalties and levies paid to date from 2006 constitute $883 million. The General Manager stressed that 4.08 million dollars has so far been invested in communities through monetary and in-kind support. US$24 million has been allocated to the Newmont Ahafo Development Foundation (NADeF) with US$1 per ounce of gold sold and 1percent of annual net profit being channeled into the account for socio-economic development within the Ahafo host communities. Mr. Daniel Egya Mensah intimated that the company was honoured by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) for its role in the local content development with18 million dollars channeled into purchases of goods and services from local businesses and 300 million dollars from other Ghanaian suppliers in 2016. We executed a regional agreement with WAFOR, a local to local grinding media supplier based in Accra to supply at least 50 percent of the grinding media requirements at Ahafo and Akyem, he intimated. The Government has commended the Sheikh Ibrahim Coffie Quaye led Hajj Board for the successful handling of pilgrimage affairs this year. Divergent roles played by other Hajj stakeholders including traveling agents and political parties which led to the success of the process was also recognized by the government. Speaking during a thanks given service organized by the Board in Accra on Saturday to give thanks to the Almighty and others who played various roles during Hajj 2017 process, a Presidential Staffer ,Alhaji Ibrahim Adjei believes Allah has accepted the prayers of all the pilgrims and thanked them for their patience . Alhaji Ibrahim Adjei who spoke on behalf of Vice President Alhaji, Dr. MahamudBawumia admitted that even though this process came with its challenges, the Board was able to handle them smoothly without any skirmishes. He said the beauty of Islam was displayed by the pilgrims as all ethnic and political affiliations were put aside and therefore urged the Ghanaian Muslim to coexist peacefully with other religious bodies and also contribute their quota for the countrys socio economic development. On his part, the Chairman of the Hajj Board, Sheikh I.C Quaye commended President Nana Addo and his Vice, Dr. Bawumiah for their supports andefforts to ensure the success of the Hajj. The two gentlemen played key roles in this years hajj process. He mentioned that for the first time in this countrys history, government cleared a debt of GHS 31 Million incurred by the previous board which paved way for Ghanas participation in the 2017 Hajj. Through the AkufoAddo led governments intervention, the Board Chairman disclosed that 452 leftover would be pilgrims in 2016 were airlifted on compassionate grounds with the support of the Finance Minister, Hon. Ken Ofori Arthur. He explained that the compassion to airlift the 2016 left over would be pilgrims stemmed from the fact that , the handing over notes by the previous Hajj Board Chairman AlhajiTanko confirmed that they have paid fully to travel but due to certain circumstances couldnt be airlifted The government therefore intervened on compassionate grounds to pay for these leftover pilgrims to embark on the pilgrimage as all efforts for the previous Board to refund the said monies proved futile. For the first time ever, the levy of SAR500 [ Saudi Arabia Riyals] chargeable per pilgrim who had performed hajj previously was borne by the Board. This according to him is a newly instituted policy by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discourage multiple hajj performers which was due to start next year 2018. But for reasons unknown to the Board, a late decision was taken to commence the implementation this year instead of 2018. The late communication in the change of the new policy start date made it untenable for the Board to pass it on to the affected pilgrims and therefore had no option than to bear the cost, he explained. Another success chalked by the Board he noted was that Ghana made history by been the first country globally to pay its Hajj fees including all service providers in Saudi Arabia, an act which is a regulatory requirement by the Ministry of Hajj Affairs in Mecca. He admitted that they were bedeviled by certain resolvable challenges but for security and diplomatic reasons, the Board had to be very circumspect and selective in what to communicate publicly as a cautionary manner. This informed some of the backlash we had and as leaders we do understand the repercussions of some silent decisions for the good of all. Among the challenges, he mentioned accommodation where illegal Ghanaian immigrants in Saudi Arabia invaded the hotel rooms and camps meant for pilgrims who had travelled through the Board for the Hajj. Also he disclosed that a category of the people got their traveling visas independently of the Board but ended up with the Ghanaian contingent whilst other Ghanaians traveled from Europe, America and the Gulf States to Mecca to invade the rooms and camps. All these led to shortage of accommodation for the pilgrims who traveled from Ghana under the supervision of the Board. However, with the cooperation of the pilgrims, personnel from the Pilgrims Affairs Office and the security, we were able to eject hundreds of such intruders over a short period Sheikh I.C Quaye said. The Thanks given service which was graced by the National Chief Imam of Ghana, Dr. NuhuOsumanuSharubutu and the ten regional Imams amongst others, was used to announced the arrival of leftover luggage for pilgrims which remained in Mecca long after the pilgrims had arrived in Ghana. The luggages were inspected by the dignitaries led by the Hajj Board Chairman and the National Imam and later distributed to the rightfulowners. The ceremony also brought together stakeholders such as the agents, pilgrims, Ghana Immigration Service, the Police and the Ghana Airports Company. Ethiopian Airlines has landed with 235 passengers to the Kotoka International Airport in Accra with its newest Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The aircraft, tagged 'Big Brother', touched down with 11 business class and 225 economic class passengers. Mr John Attafuah, the Chief Executive Officer, Ghana Airport Company Limited, who welcomed the crew to Accra, said the new Aircraft was a declaration of the confidence the management of Ethiopian Airlines has in the country and the ability of the Airport Company to deliver. He said the country was gradually becoming the aviation hub of the West African Sub-region with its improved infrastructure and airspace. 'We see this as opening more doors for other airlines to begin to use our airspace to do business,' he added. He said the Airline believed that there was traffic in Accra and doing business in the country would be profitable, hence the introduction of the B787-9. He said 'the Airport Company is pleased and happy to see the arrival of the newest aircraft into Accra.' Mr Fikreselasie Gizaw, the Captain of the Aircraft, said the Airline decided to introduce the aircraft because of the traffic in Accra and loading was increasing. He said the new aircraft, was a 315-seater comprising 30 business class and 285 economy seats, with cloud nine and was very spacious. He said it was also to give passengers the opportunity to experience the comfort of the new aircraft. A Togolese passenger told the GNA that it was the first time he boarded the aircraft and the service was good and called on other passengers to patronise the services of Ethiopian new aircraft. The B787-9 is part of its commitment to deliver exceptional level of service to the African market by operating the latest technologically advanced aircraft in the market. Ethiopian Airlines becomes the first carrier in Africa to operate the 787-9 and extended a tradition of setting aviation milestones. The Airline became Africa's first carrier to fly the 787-8 in 2012, and similarly introduced the 777-200LR (Longer Range), 777-300ER (Extended Range) and 777 Freighter. The 787 Dreamliner was the most innovative and efficient airplane family flying today and since 2011, more than 600 Dreamliners have entered commercial services, flying almost 200 million people on more than 560 unique routes around the world. GNA By Morkporkpor Anku, GNA The greatest desire I ascribe to is to see individuals grow to become like Christ in all facet and wise. My heart goes out personally for the church of God of which am a part of. I really ponder and contemplate and express much interest in the church, for what reason I do most a times critically observe Christians and churches anywhere I go. A message of this kind has been burning on my heart of which I believe is by the inspiration of the spirit and therefore deem it much prudent and timely relevant to share with the body of Christ. I hope Christian individuals and Christian leaders take note to help build the body of Christ. THE INABILITY OF SOME MEN OF GOD TO DISCERN AND ADJUST TO SEASONS AND TIMES Of the children of Issachar, men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, their heads were two hundred; and all their brothers were at their command. 1Chronicles 12:32 Respectfully and with all humility, some men of God and ministers of the gospel lacks the ability to discern seasons and times through the lenses of God. I dont say this in a cynical way. I appreciate the effort of men and women of God to see to the advancement of Gods kingdom and our spiritual building as children of God. However, truth be told, some are used to the routines and old patterns of doing Gods work especially in the ministration of the word. The same incidence was what contributed to the dethroning of Saul King of Israel. Saul cleaved to the old pattern of keeping and reserving the fatty livestock of the defeated nation they went into battle with for a sacrifice to God, whereas God wanted them dead. 10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions. Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the Lord all that night. 1 Samuel 15 To be a minister of God is a very delicate position and for that matter must always be in sink with the demands and instructions of the spirit as it relates with seasons and progression of time. Being a man is not only limited to laying of hands for people to fall under the anointing and the ability to quote or rattle scriptures, there is much more to that. Every man of God no matter the office or specification of calling should be able to teach Gods word without error and bias and dilution. This is a fundamental truth and principle to be held in high esteem. A minister of God in alignment and partnership with the Holy Spirit should be able to discern the emphasis of God in every season and time as it relates to the need of members and Gods predetermine counsel. This will then inform the minister to carve out sermons and messages that reflect Gods emphasis in those seasons in order to make bible relevant in the progression of time. The inability of some men of God to discern the times and seasons in order to present authentic sermons which are relevant to the time is what is responsible for the lack of desire of some individuals especially youngsters to come to church. This is because they keep on hearing sermons every Sunday, even though taught and preached from the bible, yet seem not to be relevant and not well constructed to relate to their lives and time. THE INCREASING LEVEL OF DOGMA, CRITICISM, JUDGEMENTAL AND CONDEMNATORY STRUCTURE AND NATURE OF SOME CHURCH MEMBERS AND PASTORS This saddens and breaks my heart so many times because some churches and Christians as spiritual as we profess to be, lacks acutely the knowledge of the purpose of our existence as a church. We do not exist as a church to create controversial and strict doctrines that keeps people in and captivity Christ delivered us from. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1 I dont mean we should be lawless but rather should focus on the purpose of the church as revealed in Scripture rather than our denominational doctrines and tenets, which are fabricated by men from a historic pioneer of a denomination. But woe unto you, Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over (neglect) justice and the LOVE OF GOD: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Luke 11:42 The church in everything we do must not be any different from the principles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ which seeks to reveal the love of God to humanity. The bible says Jesus is Love, a signification of his nature and character. What necessitated the coming of Jesus and by extension the establishment of the church (body of Christ) was the love of God for humanity. 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3 Some churches instead of being a place or creating an atmosphere where wounded Christians and individuals find healing, comfort, inspiration and experience of Gods love, is gradually gravitating to becoming a place for criticism, judgments and condemnation of all sought. For what reason people dont find hope and love in church. THE TORMENT OF THE PAST Some Christians who were pressing into God with a sincere and genuine passion for God for some reason at a particular point backslided and fell into sin which probably may be an addiction or struggle of their old nature or life. These kind of individuals after comparing the extent to which they reached in Christ and yet fell into those sin(s) feels they have disappointed God. Its heart breaking. This is more severe if this same sin keeps occurring in their lives over and over again to an extent that their conscience is seared with iron and develops hatred and indifference to the things of God. This kind of people unless by the intervention of God through intercession, subjection to consistent teachings and showing them Gods love to restore them, they may lose their salvation at the peak of this state. It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen[ c ] away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Hebrews 6. Suddenly, issues and things of God, bible, prayer, spirituality, becomes a nuisance to them and for that reason they will never come to church or join any Christian gathering. This is because the memory of their fall or consistent fall weakens their hope, desire for God and willingness for churchy staffs. It so happens that their backslide instigates fear in them for another pursuit in God. This draws them back and dwindles their desire for God. For most of them they feel a strong disappointment they have caused God. THE UNPLEASANT AND DISCOMFORTING ATTITUDES OF CERTAIN CHRISTIANS The adverse attitude and behavior of some Christians towards other individuals has been one notable reason for many individuals not coming to church. Recently, I went for missions at kete Krachi at the Volta region of Ghana. I noticed as part of the reasons why people dont go to church, is the adverse attitude of some Christians and even Pastors. Moreover, I have personally eavesdropped from the discussions and complaints of some individuals who left their church to another revealing the reason to be the unpleasing attitudes of some Christians and certain pastors. This calls for a great concern if we truly are interested in advancing the kingdom. Well, some Christians and pastors think these individuals who dont come to church are immature but I beg to differ, this is not always true. I think the issue is not to say they are immature but rather address and correct this problem in order to foster love, unity and togetherness in the body of Christ. Am not supporting or condoning individuals who dont attend church, but rather drawing the mind of various Christian leaders to this overlooked issue which is responsible for depopulation of church members. 15.11.2017 LISTEN In my previous article "Foundation of Welfare and Politics of Democracy", I wrote: any political section practice politics with concept of political party(s) and electoral system, its merge with democracy because democracy born with the 2 principle concepts. But modern Communism, Dictatorship and others subbranches of politics loved the glamour of democracy and democracy's elements they used in their system. But what is "Communism"? If I were a Political Scientist, I would described Communism; Communism is combination of Common Ism of Common Phenomenon, Common Social & Communities, Common Wealth, Common Practice, Common Behaviour, Common Concern, Common Connectivity and a Set of Common Line of Communication. Is the present world didn't achieve yet Politics of Communism. But communism facilities by democracy. So one day will come when communism will be free from the hired elements of democracy and will more independent. Many political scientist, philosopher, writer and politicians described communism but I said about a hardcore concrete definition of communism. Since the childhood, I have read many books on communism age, communism literature of story, novel, poem, play, article, theory, etc. Yes, in there, described very separately about the said definition I wrote. I proclaimed myself as a Foundationer. Foundation of Welfare. So I tried to understand Chinese President Xi Jingping's initiative 'One Belt One Road of The Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road'. And because I directly not involved with the project so I can't say I'm one of them. So I founded 'Full of Kindness & Compassionate for the Welfare of all Embracing Network of Views (The Welfare)' in strategic cooperation with Belt and Road. In my 1st letter to the Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar, I tried to figure out Xi's theory. My organization, Foundation and Development (FND) is trying to reach the Belt and Road for a sustainable & successful research over the Foundation of Welfare which will be facilitated by the Communism. We extremely need their support and cooperation through the Government of Bangladesh (GoB). GoB also should have to understand that for using democracy, they don't have to pay to the anyone. It's International Property of Intellectual. So I hope our government will soft & easy on me and my organization and should open a working road for me. Because do anything, I must need support & cooperation of Bangladesh Government indeed while I am living in Bangladesh. Hatashe Ri Seldon Foundationer, Foundation of Welfare Full of Kindness & Compassionate for the Welfare of all Embracing Network of Views : One Belt One Road of The Silk Road Economic Belt and The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Heres a question I bet you dont know the answer to. What was the first ever item bought online? Groceries? Pizza? Marijuana? Nope. Its actually a hard question to answer. But luckily e-commerce software company Shopify recently gave it a go. The trail starts with the ARPANET. This was an early version of the internet, set up by the US Department of Defence in the 60s. Later, Ivy League universities started experimenting with the ARPANET too. The result was, of course, typical student shenanigans In 1971 a bunch of computer scientist students at Stanford and MIT used the ARPANET to arrange a meet-up to buy some pot. Not exactly Nobel prize winning stuff. But was it the first internet purchase? No. Technically it doesnt count as online shopping. No money changed hands online. Only the meet up details. That leads us to contender number two In 1984 a 74-year-old British Grandmother used Videotex basically a TV connected to the phone lines to order margarine, eggs and cornflakes from her local shop. A mundane order of everyday staples was humanitys introduction to the world of e-commerce, then? Again, no. Like all good Grannies, she paid the bill from cash in her purse. She probably made the deliveryman a cup of tea and some biscuits too! So not exactly e-commerce, but a decent contender all the same. The first true e-commerce transaction actually happened in 1994. 11 August 1994, to be exact. Dan Kohn, was a 21-year-old entrepreneur who ran a website called NetMarket. On that fateful day he sold a Sting album to a friend. This time both the purchase and the payment were all online. It was one small purchase for Dans friend. But one giant leap into the world of e-commerce for mankind. A US$12.48 plus shipping costs leap. As always with technology, the real innovation is in the unseen. You see, it was a completely encrypted transaction. Kohn told Peter Lewis of the New York Times in an article the following day, Even if the NSA was listening in, they couldnt get his credit card number. 23 years later, e-commerce is huge. And its still growing. Some figures out this week are truly staggering. Whats love got to do with it? On Saturday, Chinese shoppers celebrated Singles Day. This is a uniquely Chinese phenomenon that started in the 90s. Students at Nanjing University decided to celebrate being single. The date chosen, 11/11, was of course symbolic. The solitary 1 of the individual. And what better way to celebrate being single than buying yourself a little treat? Chinese e-commerce sites have jumped on the bandwagon in recent years. Big time. Its now a money-making extravaganza. Lured by discounts and deals, Chinese shoppers have fallen in love instead with online shopping. And Singles Day is the biggest online shopping day of the year. This year online e-tailer Alibaba [NYSE:BABA] sold over US$25 billion worth of goods. At one point it got over 325,000 orders per second. Let me try and explain just how huge that is. Take Amazon [NASDAQ:AMZN] as a comparison. Singles Day this year was 25 TIMES bigger than Amazons equivalent, Prime Day. Prime Day brought in a paltry US$1 billion. Once again, the scale of the Chinese opportunity is evident. Which begs the question Are we witnessing the start of a transfer of power? A shift from American consumers to Chinese ones as the engine behind the world economy? Not yet. But within the next decade or two its certainly a possibility. With this battle raging on, it makes Amazons foray into Australia look like small potatoes in comparison. Its forthcoming Aussie invasion looks more like a minor skirmish. But the press are eagerly talking it up. Every day theres a new story faithfully reporting on a part of Amazons huge PR drive. Headlines scream every move, every executive thought bubble and every press release. Yesterday, analysts from Citibank said they expect a launch date of 24 November. This will coincide with the Black Friday sales day. I expect to see wall to wall coverage. Look, Ill admit Amazon will stir the pot a bit in Australias retail landscape. And Ive no doubt the initial buzz will generate strong short-term interest. Retailers like JB HiFi [ASX:JBH] and Harvey Norman [ASX:HVN] are right to be anxious. It will be very interesting to see how it all plays out. But from an investment point of view, I think the talking heads are focusing on the wrong areas. Let me explain Think outside the box Whether or not Amazon disrupts the local retail scene as much as they have elsewhere remains to be seen. But theres no doubt now theyre here, they will give it a good nudge. Maybe instead of worrying over what Gerry Harveys saying or how JB Hi Fi will fair, the smart thing to do is to look at who Amazon needs to compete? As big as Amazon is, it will still need help from on the ground partners. Australian partners. Whether this is labour hire companies, couriers, drone companies, online advertisers, logistics partners, technology partners My colleague Sam Volkering thinks he has identified an ASX-listed company that will be key to Amazons success here. In fact, he states that they are almost essential to Amazons operations. And not just here. Youve probably never heard of them. If you want to try and make some serious money from Amazons arrival, you must read this report today. Good Investing, Ryan Dinse, Editor, Money Morning OMAHA The National Indian Gaming Commission has again approved the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska's plan to build a casino near Omaha, but after a decade of court hearings, the project's future remains uncertain. The commission's ruling this week came nearly 10 years after it first approved the proposed casino in Carter Lake, Iowa. Ponca Tribal Chairman Larry Wright Jr. celebrated the latest decision, because building the casino would give the tribe significant new resources to help its members. "Now we can talk about real growth, real change and real development for our people," Wright said in an online video announcing the decision. Wright didn't immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment Wednesday. The tribe wants to build a casino with 2,000 slot machines, 50 table games and a 150-room hotel. It estimates the project would create 1,800 jobs. The casino was opposed by Iowa and Nebraska and the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is already home to several casinos just over the Missouri River from Omaha. Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for Iowa's attorney general, said the office is still reviewing the ruling and deciding whether to appeal. Suzanne Gage, spokeswoman for Nebraska's attorney general, said that office is still reviewing the decision. Nebraska does not permit gambling, but Iowa does and an American Indian tribe can offer gambling on land that it owns as long as gambling is legal in that state. A consultant for the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission estimated that in 2013 nearly one-quarter of the casino revenue in Iowa came from Nebraska residents, who spent nearly $327 million. Carter Lake originally sat on the east side of the Missouri River, which separates Iowa and Nebraska. But shifting and flooding in the late 1800s left the city on the west side of the river, just northeast of Omaha. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1892 that the city still belonged to Iowa. The Ponca Tribe lost its status as a federally recognized tribe in 1962 and its Nebraska reservation was sold off. But the recognition was restored in 1990, and the tribe was allowed to place up to 1,500 acres in Knox and Boyd counties in Nebraska in federal trust as "restored lands." The tribe bought the five-acre Carter Lake site in Iowa in 1999 and deeded it to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in trust for nongambling purposes in February 2003. The tribe originally told Iowa officials that the land would be used for a health center. The National Indian Gaming Commission decided that the promises the tribe's attorney made in 2003 don't prevent it from using the land for a casino now. Review of CI.133 will aid in ... Snow at Phillip Station View Photos The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the Sierra Nevada above 6,000 feet from 10 AM this morning through 4 AM Friday. A Pacific storm will bring periods of winds and moderate to heavy snow above 6,000 feet along with strong gusty winds. Light snow begins this morning becoming heavy this afternoon through Thursday evening. Decreasing snow showers are expected Thursday night. Snow levels will be above 8,000 feet through Thursday morning, lowering to 7,500 feet during Thursday afternoon and near 6,000 feet Thursday night. Total snow accumulations will range from five inches to four feet above the 7,000 foot elevation. Wind gusts of thirty to sixty-five mph are expected at the highest elevations. Motorists planning travel into the mountains the Sierra Nevada during this time frame should be prepared for hazardous winter driving conditions. Heavy wet snow and strong winds are expected with near zero visibility at times. Travel will be extremely difficult with significant delays and chain controls possible. Damage to trees and power lines may occur. A Winter Storm Warning for snow means there will be snow covered roads and limited visibilities. Travel is not recommended while the Warning is in effect. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. By Lambert Strether Clearly, Alex Azar, nominated yesterday for the position of Secretary of Health and Human Services by the Trump Administration, exemplifies the case of the revolving door, through which Flexians slither on their way to (or from) positions of public trust. Roy Poses (cross-posted at NC) wrote, when Azar was only Acting Secretary: Last week we noted that Mr Trump famously promised to drain the swamp in Washington. Last week, despite his previous pledges to not appoint lobbyists to powerful positions, he appointed a lobbyist to be acting DHHS Secretary. This week he is apparently strongly considering Mr Alex Azar, a pharmaceutical executive to be permanent DHHS Secretary, even though the FDA, part of DHHS, has direct regulatory authority over the pharmaceutical industry, and many other DHHS policies strongly affect the pharmaceutical industry. (By the way, Mr Azar was also in charge of one lobbying effort.) So should Mr Azar be confirmed as Secretary of DHHS, the fox guarding the hen house appears to be a reasonable analogy. Moreover, several serious legal cases involving bad behavior by his company, and multiple other instances of apparently unethical behavior occurred on Mr Azars watch at Eli Lilly. So the fox might be not the most reputable member of the species. So you know the drill. The revolving door is a species of conflict of interest. Worse, some experts have suggested that the revolving door is in fact corruption. As we noted here, the experts from the distinguished European anti-corruption group U4 wrote, The literature makes clear that the revolving door process is a source of valuable political connections for private firms. But it generates corruption risks and has strong distortionary effects on the economy, especially when this power is concentrated within a few firms. The ongoing parade of people transiting the revolving door from industry to the Trump administration once again suggests how the revolving door may enable certain of those with private vested interests to have excess influence, way beyond that of ordinary citizens, on how the government works, and that the country is still increasingly being run by a cozy group of insiders with ties to both government and industry. This has been termed crony capitalism. Poses is, of course, correct. (Personally, Ive contained my aghastitude on Azar, because I remember quite well how Liz Fowler transitioned from Wellpoint to being Max Baucuss chief of staff when ObamaCare was being drafted to a job in Big Pharma, and I remember quite well the deal with Big Pharma Obama cut, which eliminated the public option, not that the public option was anything other than a decreasingly gaudy progressive bauble in the first place.) In this post, Id like to add two additional factors to our consideration of Azar. The first: Democrat credentialism makes it hard for them to oppose Azar. The second: The real damage Azar could do is on the regulatory side.[1] First, Democrat credentialism. Here is one effusive encomium on Azar. From USA Today, Who is Alex Azar? Former drugmaker CEO and HHS official nominated to head agency: I am glad to hear that you have worked hard, and brought fair-minded legal analysis to the department, Democratic Sen. Max Baucus said at Azars last confirmation hearing. And: Andy Slavitt, who ran the Affordable Care Act and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Obama administration, said he has reason to hope Azar would be a good secretary. He is familiar with the high quality of the HHS staff, has real-world experience enough to be pragmatic, and will hopefully avoid repeating the mistakes of his predecessor, Slavitt said. So, if Democrats are saying Azar is fair-minded and pragmatic and heaven forfend that the word corruption[2] even be mentioned how do they oppose him, even hes viscerally opposed to everything Democrats supposedly stand for? (Democrats do this with judicial nominations, too.) Azar may be a fox, alright, but the chickens hes supposedly guarding are all clucking about how impeccable his qualifications are! Second, lets briefly look at Azars bio. Let me excerpt salient detail from USA Today: 1. Azar clerked for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia . 2. Azar went to work for his mentor, Ken Starr , who was heading the independent counsel investigation into Bill and Hillary Clintons Whitewater land deal. 3. Azar had a significant role in another major political controversy when the outcome of the 2000 presidential election hinged on a recount in Florida . Azar was on the Bush team of lawyers whose side ultimately prevailed[3] For any Democrat with a memory, that bio provokes one of those You shall know them by the trail of the dead moments. And then theres this: When Leavitt replaced Thompson in 2005 and Azar became his deputy, Leavitt delegated a lot of the rule-making process to Azar. So, a liberal Democrat might classify Azar as a smooth-talking reactionary thug with a terrible record and the most vile mentors imaginable, and on top of it all, hes an effective bureaucratic fixer. What could the Trump Administration possibly see in such a person? Former (Republican) HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt explains: Understanding the administrative rule process in the circumstance were in today could be extraordinarily important because a lot of the change in the health care system, given the fact that theyve not succeeded legislatively, could come administratively. We outlined the administration strategy on health care in Trump Adminstration Doubles Down on Efforts to Crapify the Entire Health Care System (Unless Youre Rich, of Course). There are three prongs: 1) Administratively, send ObamaCare into a death spiral by sabotaging it 2) Legislatively, gut Medicaid as part of the tax refom package in Congress 3) Through executive order, eliminate essential health benefits through association health plans As a sidebar, its interesting to see that although this do-list is strategically and ideologically coherent basically, your ability to access health care will be directly dependent on your ability to pay its institutionally incoherent, a bizarre contraption screwed together out of legislation, regulations, and an Executive order. Of course, this incoherence mirrors to Rube Goldberg structure of ObamaCare itself, itself a bizarre contraption, especially when compared to the simple, rugged, and proven single payer system. ( Everything Obama did with regulations and executive orders, Trump can undo, with new regulations and new executive orders . We might compare ObamaCare to a child born with no immune system, that could only have survived within the liberal bubble within which it was created; in the real world, its not surprising that its succumbing to opportunistic infections.[2]) On #1, The administration has, despite its best efforts, not achieved a controlled flight into terrain with ObamaCare; enrollment is up. On #2, the administration and its Congressional allies are still dickering with tax reform. And on #3. That looks looks like a job for Alex Azar, since both essential health benefits and association health plans are significantly affected by regulation. So, yes, there are worse scenarios than the revolving door; its what you leave behind you as the door revolves that matters. It would be lovely if there were a good old-fashioned confirmation battle over Azar, but, as Ive pointed out, the Democrats have tied their own hands. Ideally, the Democrats would junk the Rube Goldberg device that is ObamaCare, rendering all of Azars regulatory expertise null and void, but that doesnt seem likely, given that they seem to be doing everything possible to avoid serious discussion of policy in 2018 and 2020. NOTES [1] Im leaving aside what will no doubt be the 2018 or even 2020 issue of drug prices, since for me thats subsumed under the issue of single payer. If we look only at Azars history in business, real price decreases seem unlikely. Business Insider: Over the 10-year period when Azar was at Lilly, the price of insulin notched a three-fold increase. It wasnt just Lillys insulin product, called Humalog. The price of a rival made by Novo Nordisk has also climbed, with the two rising in such lockstep that you can barely see both trend lines below. The gains came despite the fact that the insulin, which as a medication has an almost-century-long history, hasnt really changed since it was first approved. Nice business to be in, eh? Heres that chart: Its almost like Lilly (Azars firm) and Novo Nordisk are working together, isnt it? [2] Anyhow, as of the 2016 Clinton campaign, the Democrat standard not that of Poses, nor mine is that if theres no quid pro quo, theres no corruption. [3] And, curiously, [HHS head Tommy] Thompson said HHS was in the eye of the storm after the 2001 terrorist attacks, and Azar had an important role in responding to the resulting public health challenges, as well as the subsequent anthrax attacks By Lambert Strether of Corrente. As readers know, Im a big fan of paper ballots[1], and the recent Election in Virginia gives me a chance to explain why. (The recount phase erroneously named, as whats been happening is resolving absentee and provisional ballots seems to have culminated with the Republicans keeping control of the Virginia House by a whisker, 49-51.) First, Ill do that, and set up two requirements that any system for counting votes in a democracy should meet. Then, Ill look at Virginias Back to the Future transition from digital voting to paper ballots. From Brad Friedmans essay on Democracys Gold Standard (with numbering added), a set of requirements for voting systems suitable for a democracy: Last March, the countrys highest court found that secret, computerized vote counting was unconstitutional. Unfortunately, the country was Germany, and the Constitution violated by e-voting systems was the one that the U.S. wrote and insisted Germans ratify as part of their terms of surrender following WWII. Paul Lehto, a U.S. election attorney and Constitutional rights expert, summarized the German courts unambiguous, landmark finding: No specialized technical knowledge can be required of citizens to vote or to monitor vote counts. There is a constitutional requirement of a publicly observed count. [T]he government substitution of its own check or what wed probably call an audit is no substitute at all for public observation. A paper trail simply does not suffice to meet the above standards. As a result of these principles,all independent observers conclude that electronic voting machines are totally banned in Germany because no conceivable computerized voting system can cast and count votes that meet the twin requirements ofbeing both observable and also not requiring specialized technical knowledge. If you go through this set of requirements, youll see that hand-marked paper ballots, hand-counted in public, meet every one of them. You will also see that digital voting systems, no matter how designed or implemented, cannot. They cannot, especially, meet requirements #1 (no specialized technical knowledge to monitor) and #2 (a publicly observed count). The first requirement ensures that the voting process is not riggable by insiders with technical expertise (native, or hired); the second ensures that the actual voting is not rigged on election day. These are important requirements for a functioning democracy. And that is how Germany conducts its voting today, from Deutsche Welle (German election: Volunteers organize the voting and count the ballots). Public observation: On September 24, hundreds of thousands of volunteers will be handing out ballots, checking voters names against lists, and counting votes once the polling station closes. The entire process is open to the public Every citizen is allowed to watch and monitor the entire counting process; and in effect, the volunteers monitor each other. No specialized technical knowledge: [T]he volunteers open the ballot box, take out the envelopes and remove the ballot slips. They sort the ballots according to a pre-arranged system, decide on whether the votes are valid or invalid, and count the votes reading out each vote aloud, which is noted in writing in a log. At the end, the number of ballots is compared with the number of people who voted in that particular polling station. Does that sound technical to you? The United Kingdom and Canada[3] also use handmarked paper ballots, counted in public, as do most[4] other countries. Many nations have I dont want to use the word reverted come home to paper ballots after experimenting with digital systems and finding them wanting; so have some states in this country. Now, lets turn to Virginia. Its worth noting that Virginias move back to paper is being applauded across the political spectrum. From the centrist Daily Banter, a summary of the history: It wasnt until 2014, when the state experienced a myriad of problems on Election Day, that Governor Terry McAuliffe proposed an overhaul of the state voting system. By 2015, the Virginia Board of Elections decertified the use of WINVote, but they were still stuck with other DRE (Direct Recording Electronic) systems. This past summer, at a DefCon conference in Las Vegas, computer scientists staged a Voting Machine Hacking Village to prove the instabilities of DRE, which included a single password for all machines, physical ports to insert malware, and reliance on outdated software that had not been updated since the mid-2000s. (Kudos, amazingly enough, to McAuliffe, who also managed to restore the franchise to felons.) The Richmond Times-Dispatch explains the Board of Elections reasoning: In emergency meeting, Virginia elections board votes to scrap all touch-screen voting machines The Virginia State Board of Elections voted Friday to discontinue use of all touch-screen voting machines throughout the state because of potential security vulnerabilities, forcing 22 cities and counties to scramble to find new equipment just weeks before voting begins for the November gubernatorial election. Behind closed doors at an emergency meeting in Richmond on Friday afternoon, the board heard about specific vulnerabilities identified after a cybersecurity conference this summer in Las Vegas, where hackers showed they could break into voting machines with relative ease. In an interview, Elections Commissioner Edgardo Cortes acknowledged that the short time frame could put localities under the gun. However, 10 of the 22 localities that still use touch screens, either as their primary voting method or for more limited uses, have already begun buying new equipment, Cortes said. That leaves 12 that will have to start from scratch, but Cortes said the rapid swap is doable and worth the hiccups that may come with new equipment. (The Banter points to Russian targeting of last years presidential election (whatever that means) as do others, but if the threat of Russia hacking was a necessary cause for the Boards decisionl, it was certainly the DefCon that was the proximate one).[2] In any case, the Boards decision was taken September 8, and by Election Day, November 7, the transition was complete with no reported problems, which shows you the advantages of adopting simple, rugged, and proven systems. Here is how the system works, as described in a press release from Albemarle County: The Albemarle County Department of Voter Registration and Elections wants to alert voters that a new, digital scan voting system will be used in all County voting precincts in the upcoming November 3, 2015 general election. The previously used touchscreen voting machines have been replaced by the new voting systems as a result of the Commonwealth of Virginias mandate which requires jurisdictions move toward the use of digital scan technology. With the new system, voters will mark paper ballots at marking booths, and then deposit the marked paper ballots into a digital ballot scanning machine, which will read the ballots, and drop them into a secure ballot storage bin. When the polls close on Election Day, at 7 PM, the election officers at the voting precincts will obtain the tabulated totals of votes from a results report that will be printed by the digital scanning machine. After the election, the paper ballots will be kept in secure storage for a period of one year, to ensure a voter-verified paper trail in the event of a recount. Recall our two requirements. Can the Virginia System be said to meet them? 1) Public observation. Yes and no. Yes, because the ballot is handmarked, and dropped in the box in public. No, because the ballots are counted in the innards of the optical scanner. (This can be mitigated by storing the ballots for recounts later, if needed.) And no, because the actual running of the count from the scanners does not take place in public, nor (AFAIK) the integration into the totals of provisional and absentee ballots. 2) No specialized technical knowledge. Yes and no. Yes, because clearly paper ballots are an improvement in every way from the horrid touch screens. No, in the same that once again, the innards of the optical scanner must be relied upon. (This could be mitigated, depending on the choice of vendor, by dealing with an actual scanner industry, as opposed to a bunch of tiny, sketchy outfits purveying custom, proprietary software.) In summary, and IMNSHO, there should be no digital determination or intermediation of voter intent whatever; why should we trust the scanner software engineers, or those who run them? Theres no reason to, any more than theres reason to trust the engineers or operators of mechanical voting machines.) Virginias ballots are indeed hand-marked, but they are not hand-counted in public.[5] With these strong caveats, Virginias hand-marked paper ballots were well-received by the public, and thats progress. WAVY: At a voting precinct at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, voters said they had no issues going back to pen and paper. It goes back to the old days, you know, weve been voting a long time, so we remember when they didnt have anything but paper ballots, said voter Winston Whitehurst. Voter Kevin Rafferty said he enjoyed the switch. It works. I understand. At least if were having to spend some time on it, were the only ones in control, perhaps is the idea. Nobody else hacking on in I guess is their theory so hopefully its safe, he said. And WTVR: You cant hack paper, a man training a group of Hopewell poll workers on the new [optical scanning] machines said. (But you can hack the scanners using specialized technical knowledge and you can social engineer any process where the ballots are not hand-counted in public.) Conclusion Of the two requirements, the ability to monitor election results without technical expertise is needed to prevent chicanery by those who structure the voting process. And the public count is needed to prevent chicanery on election day by those who inspect and count the ballots. Paper ballots can and do meet these requirements. Thats why most Western countries use them, and why many other countries have returned to them, after experimenting with digital systems. Virginias re-adoption of hand-marked paper ballots is a step forward, not backward. NOTES [1] For those who are concerned that paper ballots prevent ranked choice voting, Maine advocates disagree: Ranked choice voting is designed to work with paper ballots. [2] The idea that foreign invaders (as the Christian Science Monitor puts it) are the main threat for election theft seems very odd to me. Surely domestic operatives are, or at least should be, the main concern? [3] I vividly recall a Quebec referendum where the Quebec scrutineers rejected a seemingly overlarge number of No ballots. But because the process was public, and not part of an algorithmic black box, the scrutineers could be called out. Although Canada does use electronic voting at the municipal level, the stakes are lower. [4] Hilariously, a Google search on How many countries use paper ballots directs me to a WikiPedia page on Electronic voting by country. 26 are listed. There are 195 countries. [5] The convenience of election officials seems to bulk large in these disucussions; they dont want to be up all night counting paper. Well, if the Germans (and the Canadians (and the Brits)) can make that investment in democracy, why cant we? U.S. pumpkin growers toast nontraditional demand for fruit Reuters (E. Mayer). Drug-resistant nightmare bacteria show worrisome ability to diversify and spread Harvard School of Public Health Do Facebook and Google have control of their algorithms anymore? A sobering assessment and a warning Poynter Institute China and the CIA Are Competing to Fund Silicon Valleys AI Startups Defense One (Re Silc). Taming the masters of the tech universe Martin Wolf, FT American car buyers are borrowing like never beforeand missing plenty of payments, too Quartz. Chart. Venezuelan Debt Now Has the Vultures Circling NYT Zimbabwe army denies military takeover in live address on state TV CNN. Thats a little meta Brexit The Catalan Integral Cooperative: An Organizational Study of a A Post-Capitalist Cooperative (PDF) Commons Transition Syraqistan Officials raise Iran-Iraq earthquake death toll to at least 530 Guardian Iran-Iraq earthquake live blog IRIN North Korea China to send special envoy to North Korea South China Morning Post New Cold War Trump Transition $300 Billion War Beneath the Street: Fighting to Replace Americas Water Pipes NYT. Wheres that infrastructure spending? Sex in PoliticsNot! One of the most secretive, dark states: What is Kansas trying to hide? Kansas City Star 2016 Post Mortem Was the Democratic primary rigged? Ezra Klein, Vox. Moving from denial to bargaining? The 2016 Democratic primary wasnt rigged by the DNC, and it certainly wasnt rigged against Sanders. But Democratic elites did try to make Clintons nomination as inevitable, as preordained, as possible. Well, rigged is just a word Democrats in Disarray This Democrat Is About To Give Payday Lenders A Big Boost HuffPo. Mark Warner. Disarray, or altogether too well-arrayed. Follow The Money: Drug Industry Campaign Contributions Tarbell Health Care Big Brother Is Watching You Watch The NSA needs to stop hacking The Week. Important. Imperial Collapse Watch Congressional Realists Could Caucus in a Phone Booth The American Conservative Class Warfare What Red States Are Passing Up as Blue States Get Billions NYT. taxpayers in Texas are helping to fund treatment for patients with opioid addiction in Vermont. No, theyre not. Federal taxes do not fund Federal spending. Meet the People Who Listen to Podcasts at Super-Fast Speeds Buzzfeed. Zzt-zzzt-zzt-zzzzzzzt! Antidote du jour (via): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. (Natural News) Earlier this year the Republican-controlled Senate was responsible for killing off a full repeal-and-replacement of Obamacare, leading many to question whether the GOP was capable of leading and keeping key campaign promises. Now, however, Republican senators appear set to at least eliminate the very unpopular individual mandate, which forces all Americans to buy a product health insurance for the first time in U.S. history. As reported by CNBC: The proposed Republican tax reform bill will include repeal of Obamacares individual mandate requiring most Americans to have some form of health insurance or pay a tax penalty, GOP leaders said Tuesday. The decision means that Republicans, yet again in 2017, will attempt to gut a key element of the Affordable Care Act. Were optimistic that inserting individual mandate repeal would be helpful, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. on Tuesday afternoon after a lunch meeting with the Republican conference. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., added, Im pleased the Senate Finance Committee has accepted my proposal to repeal the Obamacare individual mandate in the tax legislation. Repealing the mandate pays for more tax cuts for working families and protects them from being fined by the IRS for not being able to afford insurance that Obamacare made unaffordable in the first place, Cotton continued. I urge the House to include the mandate repeal in their tax legislation. Other Republican leaders were also optimistic and said that getting rid of the onerous mandate, which many believe has led to sharp increases in health premiums, would be a huge money-saver for tens of millions of Americans at the lower end of the income spectrum. Were going to repeal the tax on poor Americans, said Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, adding that most Americans who pay a penalty for not having health insurance which is also a component of Obamacare are lower income earners. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., told The Washington Post that there were 50 Republicans in the chamber willing to support getting rid of the mandate. Thats enough for passage given that Vice President Mike Pence would cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of repeal. The deal to get rid of the individual mandate didnt come completely free to taxpayers, however. Thune said there was an agreement to pass another measure known as Alexander-Murray, which would restore key federal subsidy reimbursements to Obamacare insurers cut off last month by President Donald J. Trump, CNBC reported. Naturally, Democrats were dismissive and critical of the effort not just because they gave us Obamacare in the first place without a single Republican vote, but because as the real party of big government, they see nothing wrong with imposing as many government-mandated costs on the American people as possible. (Related: Obamacare exchanges hit with over 50 percent fail rate; feds claim the worse the glitches, the bigger the success!) Whats more, Democrats are far less willing to support a little concept we like to call health freedom in this case, the freedom for individuals themselves to decide whether or not they want to spend their money on health insurance, and in what amount. Theyre cutting taxes on the wealthy and taking health care from millions and raising premiums on millions of others all to reduce taxes on the rich, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, in sounding like a broken record. In fact, the plan would save Americans vast sums of money rather than force them to spend vast sums of money on outsized health insurance they neither want nor can use, thanks to the onerous regulatory regime contained in their Affordable Care Act. Since Obamacare became the law of the land, health insurance premiums have skyrocketed, along with out-of-pocket deductibles and other expenses two things that Obama and Democrats promised their law wouldnt do. Weve tried it the Democrats way, and it has been a dismal failure. Now it time to try some health freedom for a change and let individuals and the insurance marketplace decide on the quality of plans, pricing and other provisions of health coverage. Read more of J.D. Heyes work at The National Sentinel. Sources include: CNBC.com TheNationalSentinel.com (Natural News) The American communist Left has begun an all-out push in the Age of President Donald J. Trump to completely destroy our history, culture and traditions, likely because they sense that our 45th president just may be the one capable of defeating them once and for all with his MAGA message. They are, of course, being aided by the legacy media and the Leftist-run technology companies we have been allowed to become far too pervasive and powerful. Case in point: A New York Times columnist just recently called on Facebook to censor all pro-life websites by labeling their information anti-abortion fake news. By cherry-picking select stories and sites, and relying on discredited fact-checking organizations like Media Matters a far-Left outfit founded by uber-Leftist and Clinton sycophant David Brock columnist Rossalyn Warren then paints with a broad journalistic brush to complain that Facebook isnt doing enough to address the vast amount of misinformation and unevidenced stories about reproductive rights, science and health. Evidence-based, credible articles about abortion from reputable news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post didnt make it to the top of the list of most shared articles on Facebook last year, according to BuzzSumo. But articles from the site LifeNews.com did, she complains, while at the same time failing to inform her readers that two of the biggest purveyors of fake news over the last election cycle were her beloved Times and Post. (Related: The corporate-controlled media has been weaponized against America disinfo dictatorship seeks to replace all FACTS with FICTIONS.) As seen by Warren, who has also been published by reliably Left-wing sites like The Guardian and Buzzfeed, the problem is that Facebook isnt using the right criteria to judge what is and isnt fake regarding information posted on pro-Life sites like LifeNews.com. Currently, Facebook concentrates on sites that mimic existing sites or are financially motivated to produce misleading stories. However, so-called anti-abortion sites are neither because they publish their own content and are motivated by ideology, not profit, Warren observed. And she also claimed that Facebook really only started to pay attention to fake news and crack down on it after facing intense scrutiny from public and mainstream media pressure after the 2016 election. Now, she says, the social media giant is concentrating on the worst of the worst, on the clear hoaxes by spammers for their own gain. Thats why those of us who are concerned by the misinformation around reproductive rights need to make ourselves heard, she said, adding that much more pressure must be brought to bear against Facebook to censor anti-abortion information. The very language that Warren uses terms like anti-abortion instead of pro-life and reproductive rights instead of the term abortion are in and of themselves liberally biased and prove that she is actually the one who is motivated by ideology. By throwing in a few of the most heinous examples of fake abortion-related news and then tossing in a few specific websites, she creates the illusion that all pro-life sites are filled with bytes and bytes of fake news and that none of them are reputable, scientifically-sourced or credible. The fact is, most of those sites are reputable, credible and well-sourced; its just that Warren doesnt like those sources personally because they also push a political point of view thats generally conservative, and she obviously isnt. This is what communists do: They insist they are the ones fighting the good fight on behalf of truth and justice, when in reality their battle masks their agenda of authoritarianism. Warren, like others on the communist Left in America, doesnt want a legitimate debate over ideas. They seek to impose their anti-traditional ideology on the entire country by force or by censorship. And thats about as un-American as it gets. Sources include: Lifesitenews.com Breitbart.com Freedom.news (Natural News) Californias unconscionable vaccine mandate law (SB 277) went into effect July 1, 2016. The law eliminates parental rights, medical choice, and informed consent, forcing parents to submit their children to 40 doses of 10 vaccines, with no exceptions. The law applies to all children attending public and private K-12 schools, licensed daycare facilities, in-home daycare, public or private preschools and after-school care programs. Parents who refuse the forced, unnecessary, and sometimes dangerous vaccine protocol, have two restrictive options. They may give up their own discretion, bend over, and seek a medical exemption from a state licensed pediatrician (an exemption that is granted less than one percent of the time). Or parents must accept the harsh reality, that they have no access to public school and must instead homeschool their child, which isnt always economical for working parents. Recently, on what started out as just a regular school day, one California mother found out just how threatening this law is and how real this medical police state is becoming. One morning when she walked her kids to the bus stop, she was approached by a police officer and an unnamed official from the Claremont school district. They immediately began to interrogate her about vaccination records for her children. Wisely, the mother refused to answer the officials and began to record the interaction. The officials, refusing to give their names, continued to question her. As the mother refused to give in to their demands and stood her ground, they slowly backed away and left in a squad car. Later, when she called the police department to report the incident, they told her that she would be arrested if she refused to vaccinate her children. Unreal! In order to protect herself, she posted the video on Facebook. Along with the video, she called out for help: Please watch this Video and share I am. I am being set up by the Claremont school district to be arrested and they are trying to force me to give my child immunization shots! I woke up this morning and walked my kids to the bus stop like I always do. Guess who was waiting the Claremont police department along with another man asking me about my childs shots! I called the police department to make a complaint for harassment and was told by the sergeant, that me not giving my kids shots is a criminal act and that I will be arrested. This is why they were at the bus stop to try to incriminate me by me attempting to them that my son does not have any shots. This is crazy!! I want the world to know if I am arrested this is why! I will follow up with the facts!!!! Most states graciously give parents a religious exemption so parents can lawfully forgo vaccine requirements to enroll their children in school. However, when rights come from the government, or mans authority, they can easily be taken away, as seen in California. The authoritarians who work for the vaccine industry see the California vaccine mandate as a model for the rest of the Nation, and they are constantly lobbying to do away with philosophical and religious exemptions in other states. The vaccine industry, using the state and local government as pawns, should never dictate what goes into childrens bodies. Health freedom is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Source include: EndoftheAmericanDream.com FaceBook.com NaturalNews.com ParentsRightsCalifornia.com (Natural News) In a new video, Natural News founding editor and longtime vaccine whistle-blower Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, warns about a phenomenon known as vaccine-induced polio. While the wild polio virus has became rare throughout the world, Adams explains that some vaccines arent fully attenuated/weakened, which means some doses contain the live virus. This can result in polio infections in a small percentage of those who get inoculated in a mass-vaccination scenario. Against that backdrop, the medical establishment recently responded to a small polio outbreak in Syria by implementing across-the-board vaccinations. In that country, about 355,000 kids subsequently received the polio vaccine. Adams ran the numbers. If one out of a thousand children catches polio from a polio vaccine, then didnt they just create 355 more children with polio? Yes, they did. And that will be reported as an outbreak, and someone will call for the World Health Organization or UNICEF to come in and vaccinate a million childrenthe vaccines are the continuation of the disease that they claim to stop. Adams also points out that vaccines generally contain toxic ingredients as well as human fetal tissue. The Natural News website contains numerous articles outlining the efficacy, or lack thereof, of vaccines, along with their ingredients and side effects. As Natural News explained last month about Syria and other impacted nations, it seems illogical to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of kids (or more) as a disease-prevention strategy when the vaccine itself seems to be the cause of the disease. Polio tends to spread in countries with poor sanitation and then minimizing when clean water and related systemic improvements in hygiene come on line. In 2014, Mike Adams reported that the World Health Organization was claiming that polio constituted a global health emergency, even though a total of 68 cases were mostly found in Pakistan. He maintained that the Big Pharma controls the WHO and therefore had a financial stake in cajoling governments, including ours, into stockpiling vaccines theyll never use. (Related: Read more about the Big Pharma agenda at Vaccines.news.) Similarly, Natural News has been reporting for a decade that mumps seems to appear among children who have already received the mumps vaccine. In an article published this week, the New York Times acknowledged that mumps is making a comeback in the U.S., particularly among the highly vaccinated population, i.e., those who received two doses of the mumps vaccine in their childhood. According to one medical official cited by the Times, one strategy for a mumps outbreak is to administer a third dose of the vaccine. The New York Times is now confirming that Natural News has been right all along about the real cause of mumps outbreaks in America, Mike Adams declared. Watch the Mike Adams video below. Sources include: NaturalNews.com NYTimes.com NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit found the number of hate crimes increased in many Bay Area Cities from 2015 to 2016, according to new FBI data. Out of the 19 cities that reported their hate crimes in both 2015 and 2016 nine saw an increase in the number of hate crimes. Two cities saw the same number of hate crimes, and eight cities experienced a decrease. Berkeley, San Francisco, San Jose, San Leandro and Santa Cruz were found to have the biggest increases in hate crimes over that time. San Leandro saw one of biggest upticks in hate crimes in the state last year with a total of 22 compared to only three the year prior. Data shows most of those incidents were motivated by the victims race or ethnicity. City 2015 2016 Alameda 2 3 Berkeley 4 13 Concord 5 3 East Palo Alto 2 1 Fairfield 1 3 Fremont 3 1 Hayward 4 2 Napa 1 1 Oakland 18 9 Palo Alto 3 4 San Francisco 28 36 San Jose 6 19 San Leandro 3 22 San Mateo 2 2 Santa Cruz 6 12 Santa Rosa 2 1 Sonoma 2 1 Walnut Creek 4 3 Throughout the Bay Area the majority of the incidents were motivated by the victims race or religion. In San Francisco specifically, where hate crimes increased from 28 in 2015 to 37 in 2016, the crimes were mostly motivated by sexual orientation. California experienced about an 11 percent increase in hate crimes, with a total of 931 reported hate crimes in 2016, compared to 837 in 2015. The data is part of the FBIs annual hate crime report, which was released on Monday. The report is based on voluntary reporting of hate crimes by local law enforcement agencies across the country. Zahra Billoo, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations Bay Area chapter said the FBI report is concerning but not surprising. She said the increase in hate crimes aligns with data the agency has collected along with anecdotal reporting in the community. Hate crimes tend to increase during election years and have been on the rise over several years, Billoo said. The data tells a story but in many ways its an incomplete picture. It doesn't display the human impact of people whose lives have changed from wondering if they can wear a headscarf or go to their mosque in this current environment. Billoo said along with the human impact the FBI figures may not be complete because underreporting remains a constant concern with hate crimes. Targeted communities dont always feel comfortable calling the police and some agencies report some years and not others. As a result what we have is incomplete information, Billoo said. The report found hate crimes in the United States increased by nearly 5 percent in 2016. The total number of crimes included in the report was 6,121 compared to 5,850 in 2015. The report found more than half of those crimes were motivated by the victims race. The positive side we can point to is that more people are feeling comfortable reporting and calling law enforcement and now we can have the conversation about the importance of reporting, Billoo said. Over the past five months CAIRs Bay Area chapter has increased its staff by 25 percent in order to respond to the needs of Muslim communities. Burlington Senior Center The Burlington Senior Center is at 201 N. Main St., Burlington. For more information, call 262-767-9880, go to www.burlingtonseniorcenter.com or go to Facebook. Weekly schedule DAILY: Nutrition Program, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Call 262-833-8766 by 9 a.m. the preceding day for reservations. Suggested donation is $3.50. LIBRARY: Borrow or donate books. 50 PLUS SPORTS: Volleyball, 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays. MONDAYS Every Monday: Party Bridge Club and Sheepshead, 9-11 a.m. TUESDAYS Every Tuesday: Chocolate City Card Club, 12:30 p.m. Euchre, Pinochle, Hand and Foot, and Sheepshead are played. WEDNESDAYS Every Wednesday: Sheepshead, 9-11 a.m. First through fourth Wednesdays: Our Harmony Club, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (registration required). Second and fourth Wednesday: Dominoes, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Third Wednesday: Jam Session Music Sing-along, 1 p.m. THURSDAYS Second Thursday: Bingo, 10 a.m. FRIDAYS Every Friday: Party Bridge Club, 9-11 a.m.; Sheepshead, 9-11 a.m.; Bowling, 1 p.m. Second Friday: Bunco Party, 1-3 p.m., with prizes and refreshments. Caledonia Senior Club The Caledonia Senior Club invites residents ages 55 and older to join their club from noon to 4 p.m. every Wednesday at Caledonia-Mount Pleasant Memorial Park hall, 9614 Northwestern Ave., Caledonia. Schafskopf and cribbage are played. A $6 annual membership fee is required to join. Call 262-995-8866 for more information. Friendship Center Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, 2417 Drexel Ave., 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Thursdays, open to all. Card games in the morning and afternoon, and lunch at noon. No membership fee, donations accepted for lunch. Call 262-634-7998 for more information. Lucynoirs The Lucyniors, St. Lucys senior citizens club, meets from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Wednesday in the St. Lucy Church conference room, 3035 Drexel Ave. Cards are played. Lunch is available for a fee. For more information, call Rich or Barb Tworek at 262-554-5205. Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department The following is a list of Senior Adult Clubs offered by the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department. People 50 years of age and older are welcome to visit any senior adult club up to three times before deciding to join and are welcome to join more than one club. For more information, contact the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department at 262-636-9455. Dr. John Bryant Senior Adult Center, 601 21st St. The Dr. John Bryant Senior Adult Center, 601 21st St., is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Senior citizens 50 and over are invited. For more information on center activities, call 262-636-9235. Activities MONDAY-FRIDAY: Open puzzle table, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fitness Walkers, 8-10 a.m.; Cards, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS: Ceramics, 9 a.m.-noon. TUESDAYS: Knitting, Crocheting and Quilting, 1-3 p.m. TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS: Zumba Gold, 3:30-4:30 p.m.; Scrapbooking, 9 a.m.-noon; Pitty Pat Card Club, 9 a.m.-noon. WEDNESDAYS: Ballroom Dancing Club, 9:30-11:30 a.m., $2.50; Bingo, 1-3 p.m. (third Wednesday). THURSDAYS: Card making, 9 a.m.-noon. FRIDAYS: Ceramics, noon-3 p.m.; Sheepshead, 1-4 p.m. Humble Park Center, 2200 Blaine Ave. MONDAYS: Forward Together, noon-3 p.m., various card games. TUESDAYS: Washington 68, noon-3 p.m., bridge. WEDNESDAYS: Zumba, 10-11 a.m. THURSDAY: Rainbow Mixers, noon-3 p.m., various card games. FRIDAYS: Humble Niners, noon-3 p.m., various card games. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center, 1134 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive MONDAY-FRIDAY: Pinochle, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. MONDAY, TUESDAY, THURSDAY, FRIDAY: Pickleball, 9-11 a.m. WEDNESDAY: Zumba, 10:30-11:30 a.m., $1 donation. THURSDAYS: Hand and Foot Card Club, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. SATURDAYS: Zumba, 10-11 a.m., $1 donation. Cesar Chavez Community Center, 2221 Douglas Ave. (handicap accessible; off street parking). MONDAY-FRIDAY: Fitness Walkers, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.; Open Billiards, 9 a.m.-noon.; weight room open, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. MONDAYS: Dartball, 1-3 p.m. MONDAY, TUESDAY & THURSDAY: Pickleball, 9-11:30 a.m. TUESDAYS: Pleasant Hours Club, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., various card games. WEDNESDAYS: Art Group, 8:30-11 a.m.; Jolly Times Club, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Woodcarvers, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. WEDNESDAYS & FRIDAYS: Softball at Island Park, 9-11 a.m. (volleyball will be played indoors if too cold or wet); 55 & Over Volleyball, 9-11:30 a.m. THURSDAYS: Scrabble, 12:30-3 p.m.; Dominoes, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. FRIDAYS: Merry Makers Club, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., various card games. Tyler-Domer Community Center, 2301 12th St. MONDAY-FRIDAY: Pickup Pickleball, 9-11 a.m. MONDAYS & WEDNESDAYS: Cardio Kickboxing, 5:30-6:30 p.m. TUESDAYS & THURSDAYS: Ping Pong, 9-11 a.m. THURSDAYS: Quilting, 9-11 a.m. Racine Senior Center Racine Senior Center, located at United Lutheran Church, 3825 Erie St. (entrance at back of church), is open to seniors of all faiths every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 262-639-2038 for more information. Weekly schedule: Cards and fellowship, 10 a.m.-noon Homemade lunch and dessert, noon, $5. Various programs at 1:15 p.m. (bingo, movies, speakers, travel, slides). A parish nurse is available from 11 a.m. to noon on the third Thursday of each month for blood pressure screening and advice. Exercise, 10-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Salvation Army The Salvation Army Senior Citizens Drop-In Center, 1901 Washington Ave., is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for ages 60 and older. You do not have to be a member of the Salvation Army. Lunch is served at noon. Cost is $3.50. Call in reservations one day in advance, 262-833-8766. Low-income seniors with ID can sign up for commodity boxes. For more information, call the senior director at 262-632-3147. Weekly schedule MONDAY-FRIDAY: Cards, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. TUESDAY: League of Mercy (nursing home visitations), 1 p.m. Open to seniors interested in singing, fellowship and visiting nurse home residents. WEDNESDAY: Billiard Tournament, 9:30 a.m.; bingo, 1 p.m. Field trips are scheduled through the month. Call for the schedule. Senior Friendship Center Living Faith Lutheran Church, 2915 Wright Ave. Hours are 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m. on first and third Wednesdays of each month. Open to all seniors ages 55 and older. Bingo, Dominoes and other games are played and lunch is served (suggested $3 donation). Call 262-637-5671 for more information. An NBC Bay Area investigation reveals a dramatic increase in the number of homeless pregnant women and newborns struggling to make ends meet in high-priced San Francisco, where the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment now totals $3,390 per month. "Women tend to languish without stable housing for most of their pregnancy," said Dana Lazarovitz, a registered nurse with the San Francisco Department of Public Health. "There's nowhere affordable for them to live with their family." When pregnant women are spotted throughout the city, Lazarovitz is generally the first to respond. The epidemic of pregnant homeless women is on the rise and Lazarovitz is trying to confine the crisis. "More and more women are describing themselves as homeless or marginally housed," she said. "It doesn't feel like there's enough housing available to them when they need it most." Rising Number of Homeless Pregnant Women Her patient list of homeless pregnant women has roughly tripled in just the past five years. While San Francisco shelters boast 137 beds each night for homeless families, most pregnant women aren't prioritized until they're at least 7 months along. In my experience, pregnant women will spend most of their pregnancy on the streets before they're prioritized for a family shelter, she said. "That's a really serious issue." Lazarovitz believes the housing crisis is to blame for the rising number of pregnant homeless women. There are so few affordable housing units and supportive housing units for women, she said. NBC Bay Area The number of pregnant homeless women is difficult to track, but the crisis is clear in San Francisco: moms with children, including newborns, can be seen begging on the street. The Homeless Prenatal Program, a San Francisco based non-profit aimed at eliminating childhood poverty, provided housing and prenatal care to at least 224 homeless pregnant women so far this year. The number of women giving birth in San Francisco who identify as homeless or live in a single-room occupancy hotel has spiked 76 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to the California Department of Public Health. Impact of Homelessness on Pregnancy The pressures of homelessness can affect a pregnancy, according to Lazarovitz. That kind of a chronic stress of not knowing where you're going to have your baby and not knowing where you can take your baby is an indicator for a negative outcome for a woman's labor and delivery," she said. "Women who have chronic stress throughout their pregnancy are more likely to deliver early and we know that pre-term birth can have lasting effects for the child." One of Lazarovitz's patients is 24-year-old Patricia Dowell. When I found out I was pregnant I was just like really overwhelmed and scared, said Dowell. How am I going to bring this kid into this world right now? I don't have anything. I don't have anything to offer...but I don't believe in abortions. So I decided to keep my baby. NBC Bay Area "I Made It This Far...I Can Go Further" At a free visit with a midwife at San Francisco General, Dowell learned shes having a baby girl, who she decided to name "Faith." "It's believing in things unseen," she said. I made it this far, you know, I can go further." To get her doctors appointments, Dowell embarks on an hour-long commute each way: two bus lines and a train. Her fiance, Ace has also been on the streets. He now lives at a drug rehab center and Dowell resides in a women-only shelter though Catholic Charities. Dowell also regularly attends free parenting classes at the Homeless Prenatal Program in San Franciscos Potrero District. "Just because you're homeless doesn't mean that you're not capable of getting what your child needs," Dowell said. Dowell has lived nearly half her life homeless. Her mothers drug addiction forced them onto the streets when she was only four years old. Despite her rough beginnings, Dowell held several jobs and spent a year in college. I had to stop going to school because it's really hard trying to focus on school if you're homeless and you don't know where youre going to sleep at night, she said. At times, Dowell has slept in city parks. "I was in survival mode," she said. NBC Bay Area "We Are Going to Literally End Family Homelessness..." "There is a housing crisis in San Francisco -- it's been a crisis in the making," said San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. Lee, speaking exclusively to the Investigative Unit, appeared optimistic over the city's newly unveiled plan to dramatically reduce the homeless population through a public-private aimed at increasing affordable housing and shelter space. Lee pointed to a $30 million program led by Lynn and Marc Benioff, which will create rent subsidies aimed at getting homeless families into housing. NBC Bay Area Over the next five years, the city plans to develop more permanent housing for homeless families, enough for 527 people. The subsidized housing, unlike shelters, wont have time limits on when families would need to move out. We are going to literally end family homelessness as we know it, said Lee. As San Francisco moves forward with it's latest proposal to house more families, children continue to be born into homelessness. New Found Faith On October 30, 2017, Dowell checked into San Francisco General. One week past her due date, she was in labor. A Halloween baby, she said. Dowell was determined to have a natural child birth. But after about 30 hours of labor, doctors discovered the baby was in distress and decided to deliver immediately by C-Section. Faith was born at 2:02am on November 1. She stretched just over 20 inches long and weighed 5 pounds, 14.7 ounces. Im exhausted and happy at the same time, said Dowell, beaming over her baby. "She's mine." NBC Bay Area Dowells temporary shelter runs out in 4 months. "You have to just survive and do what you can," she said. While she isn't sure where she will move to next, Dowell is sure she will be able to provide a home for her baby. "I have no choice but to be confident and hopeful that things will get better," she said. "If I have to change around my whole life just to make sure [Faith] has a place to stay and that she doesn't have to be homeless during her childhood, I will." The number of homeless women giving birth in San Francisco spiked 74 percent from 2010 to 2015, according to the California Department of Public Health. The latest in a series of lawsuits blaming Pacific Gas and Electric for the North Bay firestorm incorporates many of the findings reported by the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit. There has been an organizational failure,said Frank Pitre, who joined a team of well-known attorneys in announcing a new round of legal suits over the firestorm that destroyed some 8,000 structures and left 43 dead. The teams nearly 50-page complaint details aging equipment and PG&Es vegetation management practices as factors in the disaster both problems first revealed by NBC Bay Area. They also point to reclosers, the automated devices that send bursts of electricity out to test problem lines. NBC Bay Area reported that while the devices can help prevent outages, they have been blamed for fires in San Diego in 2007 and Australia in 2009. Thats because when winds cause lines to go down, the bursts of energy they send to clear faults can cause arcing and spark wildfires. While Southern California utilities now unplugs those devices during fire season, PG&E wont say what it did in the high winds of Oct. 8. But Pitre appeared certain the utility left them on. Inconvenience, cost -- at the expense of life and property this was their choice, not ours, he said. And certainly not those who were the victims of this calamity. The lawyers also cited a risk analysis we first reported, which shows the utility accepted that for every 1,000 miles of its system, 17 trees would hit power lines each year, sparking a small number of fires. The analysis cited the need for tradeoffs amid the companys limited resources, a notion that attorney Steve Campora scoffed at, given the companys annual profits often exceed $1 billion. Campora said that while PG&E may be willing to accept that wildfire risk, no one has asked the victims of the firestorm. Those are risks that are not acceptable when this is the result. Because every wildfire is a potential catastrophe. PG&E issued a statement that did not respond to the claims in the suit, but stressed it is fully cooperating with investigations by Cal Fire and the state Public Utilities Commission. Our primary focus has beenand continues to bethe safety and well-being of the customers and communities that have been affected, the company said. Factory workers at Henkel Aerospace in Bay Point pledged to continue their month-long strike over unsafe working conditions Tuesday, which they say led to the death of one employee and caused another to leave the job with second- and third-degree burns. About 80 unionized workers walked off the job on Oct. 16 after contract negotiations with upper management hit a stalemate. In addition to a cost-of-living wage increase, the workers say they want the company to take a proactive approach toward preventing workplace accidents. The company, which is a subsidiary of a German corporation, produces adhesives used in aircrafts. Some of the machines employees use spin at a rate of 700 mph. The workers are also exposed to harmful fumes and chemicals daily. The machines we work with are really, really dangerous, said employee Willard Morris. They could kill you. We definitely have safety issues in the plant that need to be addressed, and we want the company to be held accountable. Morris said that its not uncommon for workers to approach management with a safety concern, only to have their worries dismissed. Henkels history with workplace accidents is well-documented; In 2013, a 26-year-old man was pulled into a mixing machine. He died of his injuries after having his legs amputated, an accident that Henkel management at the time said was preventable. Workers said another employee left earlier this year after sustaining second-and-third degree burns on 30 percent of his body. CAL-OSHA cited the company 10 times in 2016 and 2017. Henkel has paid hundreds of thousands in fines related to 2013 death and other safety issues. I noticed a big fault in safety precautions when I came into the company, but it seemed like there were a ton of barricades whenever I tried to fix something," said factory worker Austin Woodyard. It felt like production over safety, every time." Despite their issues with the company, both Woodyard and Morris said they like their jobs and take pride in the product they produce. Its not about hurting the company, Woodyard said. We love this company. We just want them to love us back, and thats what we dont get from them." Eric Wilcox, who has been Director of Operations at Henkel for eight weeks, said he is listening to the workers and hopes to come to an agreement soon. He couldnt comment on past incidents but said he is committed to improving safety at the plant. He said he believes in an open-door policy, and hopes his tenure will create a culture in which employees feel comfortable when they come with safety concerns. Since Ive been here, Ive really tried to drive home the message that its all about teamwork. One injury is too many in my book. If theyre alleging that we need to work on safety, we are working on it. He said he prioritizes safety, quality, and productivity in that order. The factory is staffed by unionized and non-union members. Production has not been interrupted because of the strike, he said. Upper management and union workers are set to go to the bargaining table on Wednesday evening. Check back for updates. A state appeals court in San Jose ruled Tuesday that three paint companies must pay for removing lead-based paint from the interiors of houses built before 1951 in ten populous cities and counties. A three-judge Court of Appeal panel unanimously upheld a 2014 finding by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg that the companies created a public nuisance by promoting the use of lead-based paint while knowing that lead dust was harmful to children. But the appeals court narrowed down the original $1.15 billion verdict ordered by Kleinberg after a non-jury trial. Kleinberg ruled that the paint companies must pay $1.15 billion for abatement of interior lead-based paint in an estimated 3.5 million homes built in the 10 jurisdictions before 1980. The appeals court said the mandate should apply only to houses built before 1951 because there is no evidence the companies advertised the use of lead-based paint, as opposed to paint in general, after 1951. Unless the paint companies successfully appeal Tuesday's ruling to the California Supreme Court, the case will go back to Santa Clara County Superior Court to determine how much the abatement will cost for the pre-1951 houses. The lawsuit was filed by Santa Clara County in 2000 and later joined by Alameda, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Mateo, Solano and Ventura counties, the city and county of San Francisco and the cities of Oakland and San Diego. The three paint manufacturers are Sherwin-Williams Co.; NL Industries Inc., formerly known as National Lead Industries; and ConAgra Grocery Products Co., which took over the former Fuller paint company. "NL, SWC, and Fuller, as leaders in the lead paint industry, were well aware in the early part of the 20th century that lead dust was poisonous," Justice Nathan Mihara wrote for the court. "Defendants promoted lead paint for interior residential use knowing that such use would create a serious risk of harm to children," Mihara said in the court's 143-page decision. Exposure to lead in deteriorated paint dust and chips can cause brain damage, learning disabilities, lowered IQ scores, slowed growth and kidney damage in children. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control concluded in 2012 that "no safe blood lead level in children has been identified." Lead-based paint was banned in the United States in 1978. Oakland City Attorney Barbara Parker and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera both issued statements saying the narrowed-down order will still result in the abatement of a majority of the lead-painted homes in their cities. "Lead paint is prevalent in Oakland homes and disproportionately affects communities of color and low-income communities. In this case, the defendants knew they were selling a product that poisoned children, yet they continued to sell it and market it as safe," Parker said. Parker said the ruling was not everything she'd hoped for, but said it, "requires that the defendants clean up the vast majority of Oakland homes that contain lead paint." The decision "affirms that major companies cannot knowingly harm Californians and get away with it," Parker said. San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera said that about two-thirds of homes in San Francisco were built before 1950, and thus the paint companies "will still have to pay to clean up the vast majority of homes in San Francisco that contain this dangerous toxin." "This case is about protecting future generations of children from the untold harm created by the dangerous products these companies peddled," Herrera said. San Francisco supervisors delayed voting Tuesday on proposed pot regulations, making it more unlikely that people in this weed-friendly city will be able to buy recreational pot when adult use becomes legal Jan. 1 in California. Supervisors have had a hard time fashioning local rules for pot shops as older members of the Chinese immigrant community have come out against placing retail stores too close to schools, daycare centers and anywhere else that children might gather. Tuesdays board meeting in San Francisco was emotional, with some supervisors arguing to get temporary rules on the books for the first day of legal sales while others urged the board to take more time to make the regulations right. San Francisco Supervisor Malia Cohen urged the board to hold off until it could meet again in two weeks, saying a stop-gap measure to allow existing marijuana outlets to sell recreational weed Jan. 1 would only benefit existing operators, who are not African Americans, veterans, women or other traditionally marginalized groups. Doing this ensures that the final legislation passed is thoughtful, culturally sensitive and the best legislation for the city of San Francisco, Cohen said. Supervisor Aaron Peskin said passing the temporary measure would give the board more time to hash out rules and send a signal that San Francisco is ready to enter the dawn of the 21st century. Recreational pot might be available in San Francisco in the first week of January, if officials meet a tight timeline requiring the mayors quick approval. It could also be ready Jan. 1 if supervisors meet in special sessions. San Francisco isnt the only California city struggling with local permits, which growers and retailers need in order to apply for a state license. Los Angeles is still working on its rules. The state expects to release emergency regulations later this month and has said it will begin issuing temporary licenses on New Years Day. Lori Ajax, the states top state marijuana regulator, has said she doesnt know how many growers or retailers will come forward to seek licenses. Its a critical question, since the states legitimate pot sales could be undercut by illegal operators. Jeff Sheehy, a San Francisco supervisor who uses medical marijuana to mitigate pain from older HIV medications, pleaded with the board to adopt the temporary measure. Taking the time to get the piece right makes a lot of sense, but not having something available on Jan. 1 makes us look bad, he said. He and other cannabis advocates prefer a 600-foot (183-meter) buffer zone between pot shops and schools, comparable to the distance now required for stores that sell liquor or tobacco. Some Chinese-American organizations have pushed back, calling for an outright prohibition on retail stores in San Franciscos Chinatown. They want future retail stores to be at least 1,500 feet (460 meters) away from schools, child-care centers and any other places where minors gather. Several supervisors expressed outraged at the way cannabis advocates have characterized Chinese opponents, calling the comments overtly racist and intolerant. __ AP writer Michael R. Blood contributed to this report. Police on Tuesday night asked residents in an Alameda neighborhood to shelter in place due to "heavy police activity in the area." The police activity is occurring near Northwood and Cambridge drives, Alameda police said at about 9:40 p.m. Drivers and nonresidents are being asked to avoid the area altogether. Further information was not immediately available. Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was blamed in three lawsuits filed Tuesday for negligence in the wildfires that killed more than 40 people and destroyed over 8,000 homes in Northern California last month. The lawsuits allege the San Francisco-based utility and its parent PG&E Corp. put profits over safety by failing to trim trees and vegetation around power lines and didn't maintain aging equipment that contributed to the deadly series of wind-driven fires that broke out Oct. 8 and raged across several counties, including the heart of wine country. The suits were filed on behalf of three couples who lost their homes in the fires, including former San Francisco Mayor Frank Jordan, and a couple hospitalized after surviving the fire by floating in their swimming pool for hours and dunking underwater repeatedly to escape the extreme heat as flames blew around them and destroyed everything they owned. "This calamity was preventable,'' attorney Frank Pitre said. PG&E spokesman Donald Cutler said the lawsuit was based on assumptions because the investigation into the cause of the fires isn't complete. He also said the company's brush clearance meets or exceeds federal and state requirements and the company inspects power lines at least once a year. The state Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention has not determined the cause of the fires yet, but said electrical equipment is one potential source. PG&E has said the state is investigating whether its power lines and equipment were a possible cause. In response to previous suits from the fire, PG&E said in a court filing that a private power line may have sparked the fire that killed 21 people and destroyed more than 4,400 homes in Sonoma County. Another 22 people were killed and at least 4,500 more structures were destroyed in other fires in the region. Pitre said PG&E had provided no support for its claims that a third-party may have been involved and he criticized the legal filing that garnered a front-page headline in the San Francisco Chronicle. "We are outraged at the most recent PG&E submission, which captured a headline where PG&E seeks to shift and deflect blame to an unknown person based on unknown facts,'' Pitre said. ``That's not transparency in our view. That's secrecy. And, frankly, we're tired of it." Pitre said the lawsuits were aimed at getting the utility and state investigators to turn over materials that will pinpoint the cause of the fires. One of the plaintiff's, Gregory Wilson, who rode out the fire in his Santa Rosa swimming pool, spoke in a whisper as he discussed the frightening ordeal that put him and his wife, Christina, in an intensive care unit for 10 days with smoke inhalation and burns. "We watched everything burn around us,'' said Wilson, who hasn't been able to speak in a normal voice since the fire. ``It's a nightmare you can't even imagine. ... We're hoping they can shed light on this so no one will ever have to go through this and, hopefully, no one else will have to die." Plans are in place Wednesday to remove a host of people living in RVs in an East Palo Alto neighborhood, but the decision is expected to draw protesters. The organizer of the protest claims that city officials told people living along a road that dead ends near the Ravens Wood Open Space Preserve on Tuesday afternoon to vacate the area by 8 a.m. Wednesday. NBC Bay Area has learned that a number of people in the area were given notice about vacating over the past several days. A number of the RVs parked along Weeks Street and nearby Pulgas Avenue in East Palo Alto are not operational. If the city tows the vehicles, those living inside would be left without a place to stay. A lack of affordable housing in the Bay Area is the main reason why people have ditched traditional dwellings for life in motor homes. NBC Bay Area's sister station, Telemundo 48, last week spoke to one man who was forced to live in an RV after his monthly rent soared from $2,000 to $3,800. The Mercury News reported earlier this month that the city of Mountain View ticketed a number of RVs parked along a residential street. In Mountain View alone, there are believed to be more than 300 vehicles that have been converted into living spaces for people unable to pay for traditional housing. Hawaii authorities were searching Tuesday for a man described by a prosecutor as fitting the profile of a serial killer who escaped from the states psychiatric hospital outside Honolulu, flew to Maui and then fled to San Jose. Randall Saito, who was found not guilty of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity, left Hawaii State Hospital on Sunday. He walked out, climbed into a waiting taxi, and boarded a charter flight before the state Health Department even had a chance to alert authorities about his absence. But it took hospital personnel eight hours to notify local law enforcement once they realized Saito was missing. Honolulu police said the 59-year-old Saito flew to Maui, and from there boarded a plane to San Jose. He arrived at Mineta San Jose International Airport around 7:30 p.m. local time Sunday. It remains unknown whether Saito remained in the Bay Area, but officials say some of his family members live in the area. United States Marshals and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents are searching for him. Late Tuesday night, the Hawaii Attorney General's office charged Saito with felony escape and issued a $500,000 bench warrant for his arrest. Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said officers in all 50 states may enforce the arrest warrant. Police have shared photos of Saito, who was last seen in a red jacket, pants and a buttoned aloha shirt. He is a very dangerous individual, said Wayne Tashima, a Honolulu prosecutor who argued in 2015 against Saito receiving passes to leave the hospital grounds without an escort. Tashima warned people not to approach Saito, saying theres a concern he could commit the same very heinous and violent offense again. Authorities asked anyone with information on Saito to call police. Saito, described by sources to Hawaii News Now as a "violent psychopath," was committed to the hospital in 1981 after being acquitted by reason of insanity of the murder of 29-year-old Sandra Yamashiro. The woman, selected at random, was shot in the face with a pellet gun and repeatedly stabbed. Her body was found in her car at a Honolulu shopping mall. Defense attorneys sought to have Saito released in 2000. But Jeff Albert, a deputy city prosecutor, objected, saying Saito fills all the criteria of a classic serial killer. In 1993, a court denied Saitos request for conditional release, saying he continued to suffer from sexual sadism and necrophilia. The state Department of Health operates the hospital, which houses over 300 patients in Kaneohe. The department said its investigating the escape. Authorities said Saito is considered extremely dangerous and should not be approached. Anyone who sees him or has information on his whereabouts should call the Honolulu Police Departments Criminal Investigation Division, (808)723-3609, or Honolulu Crime Stoppers, (808)955-8300. The public may also contact their local law enforcement agency. Authorities said the wife of a gunman who went on a rampage in Northern California was found dead, hidden under the floor inside their home. Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston said Wednesday investigators discovered the body of Kevin Janson Neal's wife riddled with bullets under floor boards. Neal "cut a hole in his floor, murdered shot her probably late Monday, and literally just put her body in the floor and covered it up," Johnston said, adding that investigators believe her slaying was the start of the rampage. The gunman shot and killed four other people and wounded 10 at different locations around the rural community of Rancho Tehama Reserve, including an elementary school, before he died in a shootout with police. Seven children were among the injured. The deep sea in the missing jet hunt has scanned 95 percent of its search area without finding any signs of the ill-fated flight, authorities said on Friday, NBC News reported "This was a tragic event and a truly heinous crime," said Sean Ragan, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Sacramento Field Office. At the time of the attack, Neal was out on bail for a charge of stabbing a neighbor. Neighbors had also complained about him firing off hundreds of rounds of ammunition and the assistant sheriff acknowledged officers visiting the home on several occasions. "He was not law-enforcement friendly," Johnston said. "He would not come to the door." Johnston said the gunman was facing charges of assaulting one of his neighbor in January and that she had a restraining order against him. Five Dead, Gunman Killed After Shooting Rampage in Northern California Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen said he was out on $160,000 bail and did not have the opportunity to return to court where prosecutors could push for an increase in that amount. "That's his right," Cohen said. "A person's innocent until proven guilty so even though there might be a rush to justice in this situation as far as he should have been tried and convicted, that's not how our system works." It's not clear what the terms of Neal's bail were, but his many contacts with authorities raised questions of why he was out of custody and able to use a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns to go on a 25-minute shooting spree that began with the killing of two neighbors in an apparent act of revenge before he went looking for random victims. The gunman's sister, Sheridan Orr, said her brother had struggled with mental illness throughout his life and at times had a violent temper. "He was an all American kid with a good family. Mental illness took over," Orr told NBC News. Orr, who said she had not talked to her brother in months, said she believed he was addicted to drugs. "Were stunned and were appalled that this is a person who has no business with firearms whatsoever," Orr said. "Our deep, deep sympathy for the victims and it sounds trite but our hearts are breaking for them." Orr added, "If we can do any good to make people realize there must be some gates on people like this from getting guns," she paused. "This is the same story were hearing more and more." Sheridan Orr Cristal Caravez and her father live across a ravine from the roadway where the gunman and his first victims lived. She said they and others heard constant gunfire from the area of the gunman's house, but couldn't say for sure it was him firing. "You could hear the yelling. He'd go off the hinges," she said. The shooting, "it would be during the day, during the night, I mean, it didn't matter." She and her father, who is president of the homeowners association, said neighbors would complain to the sheriff's department, which referred the complaints back to the homeowners association. "The sheriff wouldn't do anything about it," said Juan Caravez. NBC Bay Area's Raj Mathai sits down with Josh Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd for an in-depth interview about their inprisonment in Iran. Neal's mother told The Associated Press her son, who was a marijuana grower, was in a long-running dispute with neighbors he believed were cooking methamphetamine. The mother, who spoke on condition she be named only as Anne, lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she raised Neal. She said she posted his $160,000 bail and spent $10,000 on a lawyer after he was arrested in January for stabbing a neighbor. Neal's mother said the neighbor was slightly cut after Neal grabbed a steak knife out of the hand of the neighbor who was threatening him with it. She wept as she told The Associated Press she spoke to Neal on the phone on Monday. "Mom it's all over now," she said he told her. "I have done everything I could do and I am fighting against everyone who lives in this area." She said Neal apologized to her during their brief conversation, she thought for all the money she had spent on him, saying he was "on a cliff" and the people around him were trying to "execute" him. "I think the motive of getting even with his neighbors and when it went that far he just went on a rampage," Johnston said. Mass Shootings in the U.S. Single attacks in a public place in which four or more victims were killed. The data does not include shootings stemming from crimes such as robberies and gang violence. More on the data source. (function() { 'use strict'; window.addEventListener('message', function(event) { if (typeof event.data['datawrapper-height'] !== 'undefined') { for (var chartId in event.data['datawrapper-height']) { var iframe = document.getElementById('datawrapper-chart-' + chartId) || document.querySelector("iframe[src*='" + chartId + "']"); if (!iframe) { continue; } iframe.style.height = event.data['datawrapper-height'][chartId] + 'px'; } } });})(); (function() { 'use strict'; window.addEventListener('message', function(event) { if (typeof event.data['datawrapper-height'] !== 'undefined') { for (var chartId in event.data['datawrapper-height']) { var iframe = document.getElementById('datawrapper-chart-' + chartId) || document.querySelector("iframe[src*='" + chartId + "']"); if (!iframe) { continue; } iframe.style.height = event.data['datawrapper-height'][chartId] + 'px'; } } });})(); Police said surveillance video shows the shooter unsuccessfully trying to enter a nearby elementary school after quick-thinking staff members locked the outside doors and barricaded themselves inside when they heard gunshots. Johnston said the gunman spent about six minutes shooting into Rancho Tehama Elementary School before getting "frustrated" and driving off to continue shooting elsewhere. "It is monumental that the school went on lockdown," Johnston said. "I really, truly believe that we would have had a horrific bloodbath in that school if that school hadn't taken the action when they did." Johnston said the rampage by a "mad man on the loose" ended when a patrol car rammed the stolen vehicle the shooter was driving and killed him in a shootout. Johnston said officials received multiple 911 calls about gunfire at an intersection of two dirt roads. Minutes later, more calls reporting shots flooded in from different locations, including the school. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots and children screaming at the school, which has one class of students from kindergarten through fifth grade. no description For his part, Johnston promised: "We will move forward and we will start the healing process." NBC Bay Area's Brendan Weber contributed to this report. RACINE A Racine man is accused of firing shots at a vehicle with a mother and her four children inside. Dontrell D. King, 21, of the 1100 block of Metron Court, is charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle toward a building or vehicle and five counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon, all felonies. According to the criminal complaint: On Oct. 31, the alleged victim was parked in her car on the east side of 12th Street, with her four children, when she saw King crouching down between two homes on Racine Street. King then allegedly fired three shots at her vehicle, striking it one time on the front passengers door. King then reportedly fled east between the houses on foot. A vehicle that was parked in front of the victims fled the scene when shots were fired. Officers later located the other vehicle and the driver confirmed that he drove away after hearing shots. Police located three 9mm casings between the two homes on Racine Street. King was in custody of the Racine County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon. A preliminary hearing in his case is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 22 in the lower level of the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. King was previously convicted of theft of movable property, a felony. A class action lawsuit has been filed against Uber by two unidentified female passengers who allege they were sexually assaulted by their drivers in cases that occurred in Miami and Los Angeles. "Uber will stop at no lengths to make a profit," the lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California states. "Since Uber launched in 2010, thousands of female passengers have endured unlawful conduct by their Uber drivers including rape, sexual assault, physical violence and gender-motivated harassment." The lawsuit was filed by the Anderson & Poole, P.C., law firm based in San Francisco and the New York-based Wigdor Law LLP firm on behalf of plaintiffs identified as Jane Doe 1 and Jane Doe 2. Jane Doe 1 is described as an adult woman living in Miami. On Oct. 15, 2016, Nimber Abdallah, who had previously been charged with a felony, picked up Jane Doe 1 and her friend who used the Uber phone app. Jane Doe 1 was "barely conscious" and has "limited recollection" of the ride. Once they arrived at the apartment, Abdallah "entered the apartment and carried Ms. Doe 1 into her bedroom," according to the lawsuit. "Ms. Doe 1's friend saw Abdallah sprawled on top of Ms. Doe 1 on her bed kissing her. When the friend demanded that Abdallah leave the apartment, his only response was to invite her to join them on Ms. Doe 1's bed," the lawsuit states. "Her friend became so frightened that she locked herself in the bathroom of the apartment, terrified. She passed out in the bathroom for the rest of the night." Jane Doe 1 called police when she saw evidence that she was raped the next morning. Abdallah was later arrested on a charge of sexual battery of a victim who was physically incapacitated. Following the Miami incident, Uber released a statement last year in which it said that those "actions are in clear violation of the community guidelines." The California case involves Jane Doe 2, who is described as an adult woman living in Los Angeles. In in the incident, the lawsuit said that she had been picked alone in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Silver Lake on Jan. 18, by a driver identified as "Miguel Last Name Unknown" after she had dinner with a friend. Jane Doe 2 fell asleep in the backseat of the car and woke up during the assault, according to the lawsuit. Miguel then drove home Jane Doe 2 who was in and out of consciousness forced her to engage in intercourse against her will and then left, the lawsuit continues. An Uber spokesperson in a statement to NBC 6 said that while the company does not currently know the specific details of the accusations, it will review the information that has been provided. "Uber received this complaint today and we are in the process of reviewing it. These allegations are important to us and we take them very seriously," the spokesperson said. Earlier this month, Uber pledged $5 million during the next five years to fund sexual assault prevention groups as well as train its own employees. Uber says the groups have helped it train 150 customer service agents for a team to deal with sexual assault reports. Theyve learned how to interview victims without being judgmental, and how to refer them to police and a crisis hotline. Ubers image has been tarnished by findings of sexual harassment of employees and multiple reports of drivers assaulting passengers. Other industries have also recently come under fire as women have been coming forward with complaints of sexual assault in Hollywood and other industries. A firefighter was injured battling a fire in Ayer, Massachusetts, on Wednesday afternoon. The Ayer Fire Department said the flames broke out around 12:30 p.m. at 33 Washington St. As of 2 p.m., fire crews were still on the scene. Aerial footage from NBC Boston's Sky Ranger helicopter showed heavy smoke pouring from the charred roof of the home. Fire officials said the injured firefighter suffered a medical emergency while working building and not as a direct result of the fire. He was taken to a local hospital and his condition was not immediately known. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Chicago's annual homicide number has climbed above 600 for only the second time in more than a decade. Three people fatally shot over the last two days brought the city's total number of homicides for 2017 over the grim threshold, according to data from the Chicago Tribune and police department. The latest fatal shooting happened Tuesday evening, when three people were shot on the city's West Side. The group was in the 500 block of South Lockwood just after 5 p.m. when they said a light-colored vehicle pulled up and someone inside it opened fire, according to authorities. A 25-year-old man was shot multiple times in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. A second person, a 32-year-old man, suffered wounds to the groin and buttocks and was taken in stable condition to Stroger Hospital. A 28-year-old man also suffered a graze wound to the head and was in stable condition at Stroger Hospital. On Monday, two others were killed, including a teen boy. Tribune data puts the city's tally at 602 homicides since Jan. 1. That number is lower than the 590 murders the Chicago Police Department says has been recorded for the year so far, though the department's statistics don't include killings on area expressways, police-involved shootings, self-defense killings or death investigations. Illinois State Police said there have been 23 confirmed shootings on area expressways this year, one of which was fatal. While the total number of homicides is lower than the city had at this time last year, it remains significantly higher than recent years. This marks only the second time the city has crossed 600 homicides since 2003, according to data from the police department. Last year, the nations third largest city saw 762 homicides, the most in the last two decades and more than New York and Los Angeles combined. Thats compared to the 485 recorded citywide in 2015. Recent months have seen a decline in the number of both shootings and murders compared to 2016, authorities said. Shootings for the month of September declined by 15 percent and murders were down by 10 percent compared to the same month last year, according to statistics from CPD. Still, over the last weekend alone, two people were killed and as many as 17 others wounded. Off-campus parties are nothing new for police to deal with in college cities and towns, but university police at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) said theyre noticing some positive results by having extra patrols out a few nights a week. Mala Thapa lives in a neighborhood just blocks away from Central Connecticut State University on Carlton Street. Police said its an area where many students live. Her street is part of CCSU police departments neighborhood and party patrol where police make themselves more visible in certain areas near the university on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. "Theyre patrolling. You can see them going through," Thapa said. Two years ago, someone broke a window to Thapa's home, but lately, shes noticing change. "Its definitely more quieter than it used to be. Thats what we notice, but other than that not too much of big significant changes," she said. "Little-by-little but we can see gradual progress." The change is all part of CCSU and the New Britain Police Departments focus on quality of life issues, like loud disturbances and parties happening in neighborhoods near the university. Between Sept. 18 and Nov. 13 in 2016, police made one breach of peace arrest and made 57 motor vehicle stops in the neighborhood. Thats compared to the six breach of peace arrests and 147 motor vehicle stops in 2017. "The other thing is the tremendous increase in neighborhood checks or patrol checks. Last year there was approximately 476 and were over 1100 for this 2017 semester," CCSU Police Sgt. Jerry Erwin said. CCSU police said the neighborhood and party patrol is working. They are noticing they very rarely have to return to a home theyve received a complaint on. Students said theyre just trying to be considerate of their neighbors. "It cant be crazy, we got to keep it down. I know a lot of their neighbors, theyre not kids so weve got to be quiet," student Chris George said. An elderly man who depends on daily medication and was reported missing in Plainville on Tuesday was found last night. Police asked for the public's help to find 85-year-old Joseph Zysek and said he was found around half an hour after the story aired. A Westport, Massachusetts woman is dead and a Danielson woman has serious injuries after a crash on Route 6 in Killingly Tuesday afternoon, according to state police. Police said 34-year-old Angela Burchill, of Westport, Massachusetts, was going east on Route 6 near Westcott Road just before 1:15 p.m. when her 2017 Ford Fusion went into the westbound lane and hit the 2007 Ford Ranger driven by 24-year-old Alicia Elizabeth Brunnett, of Danielson. The vehicle Brunnett was driving caught fire and passersby got her out of the pickup, according to state police. She was transported to Day Kimball Hospital, then moved to UMass Memorial Medical Center, according to state police. Burchill was pronounced dead at the scene, according to state police. Police are investigating the crash and ask anyone with information to call Connecticut State Police Troop D at 860-779-4900, extension 2113. The bell ringing season that starts each November and runs through Christmas Eve will begin this Friday. The need is even greater this year after three major hurricanes impacted Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and other islands in the Caribbean. "When we have a situation like this where we have an influx of folks who are in crisis who have been traumatized we need that funding even more," Brenda Downing, divisional social services director, said. "Were not the disaster-declared state so theyre very limited if any funds [are] coming to help us with these families so we really have to rely on folks to donate money to help us do this." The goal is to raise $1.8 million in Connecticut. "What people giving to the Salvation Army this time of year is doing: theyre partnering with us to help put those lives back together," Major Roger Duperree, Salvation Army Southern New England divisional secretary, said. If residents don't carry cash, they can text "GIVE CT" to 71777. The Salvation Army said there is also a need for bell ringers this year. There are about 1,000 volunteers for this years campaign, but at least 500 more are needed. Those who would like to help are encouraged to volunteer for at least two hours. David Cornish, of Windham, has volunteered for the last 15 years. "It seems like every year, the need gets greater. The number of people who are impacted by employment issues, by standard of living issues and try to make it through day-to-day," Cornish said. "It all starts with people just putting change in the kettle or putting a dollar in the kettle." If youd like to volunteer to be a bell ringer, head to the Connecticut Salvation Army website. A man who escaped from a psychiatric hospital in Hawaii, flew to Maui and then hopped on a plane to San Jose was captured by sheriff's deputies in Stockton Wednesday morning thanks to a tip from an alert cab driver, according to sheriff's officials. The arrest puts an end to a days-long search for Randall Saito, who was found not guilty of a 1979 murder by reason of insanity and has been described as fitting the profile of a serial killer. Saito walked out of Hawaii State Hospital on Sunday, climbed into a waiting taxi, and boarded a charter flight before the state Health Department even had a chance to alert authorities about his absence. Honolulu police later received a tip that Saito was on his way to a brother's home in Stockton, said Honolulu CrimeStoppers Sgt. Chris Kim. That tip was forwarded to authorities in Stockton, Kim said. Saito was arrested in Stockton around 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday by San Joaquin County sheriff's deputies, according to the sheriff's office. Saito was detained by three deputies outside of a gas station. The sheriff's department noted that a tip from an alert taxi driver led to the arrest. Honolulu police said the 59-year-old Saito flew to Maui, and from there boarded a plane to San Jose. He arrived at Mineta San Jose International Airport around 7:30 p.m. local time Sunday. It wasn't immediately known how he was able to charter a plane. Police wouldn't provide details about his flight to California. It took hospital personnel eight hours to notify local law enforcement once they realized Saito was missing. Late Tuesday night, the Hawaii Attorney General's office charged Saito with felony escape and issued a $500,000 bench warrant for his arrest. Saito, described by sources to Hawaii News Now as a "violent psychopath," was committed to the hospital in 1981 after being acquitted by reason of insanity of the murder of 29-year-old Sandra Yamashiro. The woman, selected at random, was shot in the face with a pellet gun and repeatedly stabbed. Her body was found in her car at a Honolulu shopping mall. Defense attorneys sought to have Saito released in 2000. But Jeff Albert, a deputy city prosecutor, objected, saying Saito fills all the criteria of a classic serial killer. In 1993, a court denied Saitos request for conditional release, saying he continued to suffer from sexual sadism and necrophilia. The state Department of Health operates the hospital, which houses over 300 patients in Kaneohe. The department said its investigating the escape. The U.S. Justice Department in Los Angeles announced Tuesday that it has obtained an additional $5.4 million for service members whose vehicles were repossessed by Wells Fargo Bank in violation of federal law. Wells Fargo reached a $4 million settlement with federal prosecutors last year over allegations it illegally repossessed more than 400 cars owned by members of the military without a court order. The settlement resolves alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, which protects service members against certain civil proceedings that could affect their legal rights while they are in the service. The additional amount brings the total compensation under the settlement to more than $10.1 million and the total number of service members eligible for relief to more than 860. "The SCRA provides important protections and is intended to prevent unnecessary financial hardship for the brave women and men who serve in our armed forces," said acting U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown. "Losing an automobile through an unlawful repossession while serving our country is a problem service members should not have to confront. We are pleased that Wells Fargo is taking action to compensate these additional service members as required under the settlement with the Justice Department." The settlement covers repossessions that occurred between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 1, 2015. The agreement requires Wells Fargo to pay $10,000 to each of the affected military members, plus any lost equity in the vehicle with interest. Wells Fargo also must repair the credit of all affected soldiers. The agreement also requires Wells Fargo to pay a $60,000 civil penalty to the United States and to determine, in the future, if any vehicle it is planning to repossess is owned by an active duty service member. CALEDONIA A unit in a multi-family dwelling was destroyed and a familys two dogs were killed in a fire Tuesday afternoon in Caledonia. The Caledonia Fire Department was dispatched at 1:03 p.m. to the 5300 block of Four Mile Road Tuesday for a fire in a multi-family unit. The fire was called in by a delivery driver; none of the units human residents were at home at the time. Caledonia Battalion Chief Jeff Henningfeld said police officers arriving on scene alerted the neighbor in the adjacent unit, who had reportedly been sleeping. By the time the fire was declared under control at 1:54 p.m., the unit was a total loss and the occupants dogs had perished. Henningfeld said the adjacent unit may have sustained smoke damage. Units from the Oak Creek Fire Department, a South Shore Fire Department battalion chief and the Racine Fire Bells assisted Caledonia fire crews at the scene. The Racine and Raymond fire departments handled other rescue calls for Caledonia while their crews were detained at the fire. Henningfeld said the cause of the fire was under investigation Tuesday night. Palm Beach County's first medical marijuana dispensary opened to the public in Lake Worth Tuesday. The facility, Knox Medical, already has locations in Gainesville, Tallahassee, Jacksonville and Orlando, WPTV reported. Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment on medical marijuana last year. Knox Medical CEO Jose Hidalgo said medical marijuana is necessary for people with debilitating illnesses like cancer and ALS. About 200 patients in the area are already customers of Knox. Hidalgo says their average age is 58. What to Know Julien Simpson was an official with Australia's United Nations mission An argument between him and another man ended with Simpson trying to prove his trustworthiness with a game of trust fall, police said Simpson leaned back on the terrace of a Lower East Side building, slipped and fell to his death An Australian diplomat died after he plummeted from a Manhattan building during a game of trust, police said. Julien Simpson, 30, fell to his death from a seventh floor terrace of a building near Clinton and East Houston streets on the Lower East Side early Wednesday morning, police said. Simpson and a number of other people were on the roof of the building to look at the Empire State Building, which was lit up in rainbow colors in recognition of a survey that found most Australians support marriage equality, when Simpson swung a woman around, angering her husband, according to police. The Full 2018 List of New York City's 72 Michelin-Starred Restaurants Simpson later offered to prove his trustworthiness to the man by playing a game of "trust fall" on an apartment terrace. He went to a ledge and leaned back, but as he grabbed for the man's hand, he slipped and fell to a second-floor landing, police said. Law enforcement sources told News 4 that Simpson and the others may have been drinking at the time of the accident. Simpson was an official with Australia's United Nations mission. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it's assisting the diplomat's relatives, who are asking for privacy. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says the death of Simpson, the second secretary to the United Nations for Australia, was a "shocking tragedy." "Hearts go out to his family, but I cannot provide any more details," Turnbull told Australia's Seven Network television. [NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More What to Know Four teens escaped from the Harborfields Youth Detention Facility in Egg Harbor City. Three have been caught. One remains at large. The teens overpowered a guard and stole his car, which they later crash. The teens then fled on foot, wearing little clothing. Schools in three Egg Harbor area districts were closed as a precaution as the manhunt continued into Wednesday morning. Police captured Michael Huggins Thursday morning. Click here for details. Three of the four teenagers who police say overpowered a guard and stole his car during a daring escape from a southern New Jersey juvenile detention center were captured Wednesday morning after nine hours on the run. But, as of Thursday morning, a teen accused of murder remained on the run. The juveniles escaped from the Harborfields Youth Detention Facility in Egg Harbor City about 20 miles west of Atlantic City around 12:20 a.m. Wednesday. New Jersey State Police and Bridgeton police responding to a burglary call took three of the teens into custody in Bridgeton about 35 miles from Egg Harbor City, investigators said. "I do thank those folks for their diligent work, it certainly helped us out a lot," Acting Atlantic County Sheriff Mike Petuskey said. Michael Huggins, 18, remained on the run Thursday and is considered dangerous. He is accused of killing a man during a robbery in Bridgeton last year. Police helicopters scanned the area searching for Huggins. The sheriff's office said the teens overpowered two corrections officers and drove off in one of their cars. They sideswiped a Jeep before crashing into a home and fleeing the scene. NBC10/Egg Harbor City Police Department One guard was taken to a hospital for treatment and is expected to be OK. Sixteen schools in districts including Egg Harbor City, Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District, Galloway Township, Hamilton Township and St. Vincent de Paul Regional School were shut down Wednesday as a precaution. Early Wednesday, Law enforcement asked Egg Harbor City residents to stay in their homes unless they have to leave and call 911 if they see something suspicious. Stockton University, which is about 7 miles away, also alerted its students of the manhunt and suggested that all dorm doors and windows be locked. Huggins is 18 (accused of committing a crime while 17), another teen is 17 and two are 16 years old. The teens were wearing minimal clothing when they escaped one in a white boxers, a cream shirt and flip-flops and two others in thermal pants, white boxers and possibly a white T-shirt. Temps overnight in Egg Harbor City dipped into the upper 30 and low 40s. "More than likely they are gonna be cold, so if they don't have a ride already, they are going to be looking for some type of clothing," Petuskey said during the search. "We don't know if they are going to break into a house, we have no idea." Harborfields, which is located at Buffalo Avenue and Duerer Street, houses 27 juveniles awaiting court hearings. "Harborfields operates under the auspices of the County of Atlantic, Department of Public Safety and is managed, under contract, by the State of New Jersey, Department of Law and Public Safety, Juvenile Justice Commission," the center's website says. Authorities didn't reveal what crimes the other juveniles are accused of committing but they did say that due to the severity of the crimes, the teens are considered dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call the Atlantic County Sheriffs Office at 609-909-7200. There's a cheesy controversy bubbling up in New York City Hall: Mayor de Blasio's spokesman thinks Chicago-style pizza is better than the Big Apple's. Press Secretary Eric Phillips took to Twitter over the weekend to claim pies from Chicago deep dish stalwart Pequod's as "the best pizza in the United States and it's not even close." This is the best pizza in the United States and its not close. pic.twitter.com/wnKBUjuHkl Eric Phillips (@EricFPhillips) November 12, 2017 In a subsequent tweet, Phillips -- who went to Northwestern University and the University of Wisconsin -- even went as far as to say New York City pizza is the the Salisbury steak to Chicago's steak. NYC has a lot of great pizza. But I prefer Chicago-style. I dont think anyone cares what type of pizza the mayors press secretary likes, he said in another tweet. I think they care more about someone not being a phony. Especially about pizza! Now -- this being New York City -- dozens of fellow tweeters were quick to take him to task for his views. "Living here doesn't make you a New Yorker, apparently," wrote Benjamin Yee, a committeeman on the New York State Democratic Party. "Chicago makes amazing cheese and tomato pie, leave pizza to the pros." Another piled on, " You are the press secretary for the mayor of NYC & you're betraying a great city right now. TOMATO SOUP IN A BREAD BOWEL ISN'T PIZZA. IT'S AN ABOMINATION" These 46 Local Pizzas Have Landed on an Annual List of the 101 Best in America But Phillips did have at least one cheerleader: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who also chimed in with a tweet of his own. Confirming what everyone already knew, the mayor said. Sorry, @NYCMayor. It's not the first time the de Blasio administration has found itself in a pizza controversy. In 2014, the mayor raised eyebrows by eating a slice of New York City pizza on Staten Island with a fork and knife. Deadly gunfire rang out just before closing Tuesday morning inside a chain restaurant outside a New Jersey Mall. The homicide happened around 12:25 a.m. at the bar inside the Applebees Grill + Bar restaurant that sits along Brunswick Pike (U.S. Route 1) near the Quaker Bridge Mall in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Lawrence Township police said. The gunman approached the victim, who appeared to be alone at the bar, and shot him once in the head, police said. He died at the scene, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said. Police later identified the victim as 23-year-old Devin Smith of Lawrence Township, New Jersey. No other injuries were reported. Family Photos Investigators searched for a dark-colored SUV that fled the scene, police said. The chain eatery was open at the time of the shooting, as it closes at 1 a.m. each night. Patrons arrived Tuesday to find that the restaurant didn't open as normal for lunch, as the investigation into the shooting continued. "We offer our condolences to the family of those impacted," Applebees said in a statement. "The safety and security of our guests and team members is paramount." The local franchise would continue to cooperate with the investigation, Applebee's said. Tuesday night, Smith's loved ones gathered at the Applebee's to honor him, leaving behind balloons and candles. "I just lost the father of my child," said Briana Anderson, the mother of Smith's 3-year-old daughter. "I'm trying to be strong for my daughter so she knows she's not alone through this whole process." Those who knew Smith described him as a man who was the life of the party with countless friends and no known enemies. "They were just always so happy and lively," said Lisa Trinh, one of Smith's friends. "I don't know who could've done it to him." Kavon Marshall, another friend of Smith's, arrived at the Applebee's late Tuesday night and delivered balloons, releasing some in the air. He considered Smith his little brother. "It just don't feel real," Marshall said. "I do miss him. I don't even know what kind of monster would do this." Police did not release a detailed description of the suspect. The Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said they are working on several promising leads. If you have any information on the shooting, please call Sgt. Gary Wasko or Detective Michael Hughes of the Mercer County Homicide Task Force at (609) 989-6406. The fate of a woman from New Jersey arrested in Zimbabwe for allegedly calling the African countrys leader a sick man on Twitter remains as uncertain as ever after that leader himself has apparently been removed from power. The sudden arrests of President Robert Mugabe and his wife occurred sometime early Wednesday in what some outside government observers have speculated as a military coup. Military supporters described the detainment of the 93-year-old leader as a bloodless correction." South Africa's president told the Associated Press that he spoke with Mugabe, who was "fine" but confined to his home. For the first time, this southern African nation is seeing the military oppose Mugabe, the world's oldest head of state and one of the longest-serving authoritarian rulers. Mugabe has been in power since Zimbabwe's independence from white minority rule in 1980. The upheaval comes less than a week after American Martha ODonovan, who grew up in central New Jersey and graduated from Bridgewater-Raritan High School, was released on bail Nov. 10 from state prison. ODonovan, 25, was charged in October with a count of subversion against the Mugabe government for her tweet. O'Donovan had been working with local social media outlet Magamba TV, which describes itself as producing "satirical comedy sensations." O'Donovan, a graduate of New York University, has called herself a manager for Magamba TV and a "media activist." O'Donovan has denied the allegations as "baseless and malicious." Her family could not be reached Wednesday. The whiplash developments followed Mugabe's firing of his deputy, which had appeared to position the first lady, Grace Mugabe, to replace Emmerson Mnangagwa as one of the country's two vice presidents at a party conference next month. But the first lady has proved unpopular among some Zimbabweans, and Mnangagwa had significant support from the military. It was not clear Wednesday where Mnangagwa was, though he fled the country last week citing threats to him and his family. Armed soldiers in armored personnel carriers stationed themselves at key points in Harare, while Zimbabweans formed long lines at banks in order to draw the limited cash available, a routine chore in the country's ongoing financial crisis. People looked at their phones to read about the army takeover and others went to work or to shops. In an address to the nation after taking control of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Major General Sibusiso Moyo said early Wednesday the military is targeting "criminals" around Mugabe, and sought to reassure the country that order will be restored. Mugabe and his wife appeared to be in the custody of the military. "Their security is guaranteed," Moyo said. "We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover," he said. "We are only targeting criminals around (Mugabe) who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice." Moyo added "as soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy." The army spokesman called on churches to pray for the nation. He urged other security forces to "cooperate for the good of our country," warning that "any provocation will be met with an appropriate response." All troops were ordered to return to barracks immediately, with all leave canceled, said Moyo. The broadcast was sent out from the ZBC headquarters in Pocket's Hill near Harare's Borrowdale suburb. South African President Jacob Zuma said he was sending his ministers of defense and state security to Zimbabwe to meet with Mugabe and the military there. He said he hopes Zimbabwe's army will respect the constitution and that the situation "is going to be controlled." The head of Zimbabwe's influential war veterans association, once a staunch supporter of Mugabe, said they stand with the army and that Mugabe should be recalled as president and ruling party leader. A Valley Center mother and her son were killed while on vacation in Texas after a suspected drunk driver collided with their car head-on. The Latullipes were driving to the airport in Austin when the driver crashed into their small rental car. Scott Latullipe was seriously hurt and is in critical condition. His wife, Nancy Latullipe and their son Jackson died on impact. The couples youngest child, 10-year-old Kiera suffered minor injuries. The family's neighbors are devastated to hear the news. "No, it doesnt seem real yet. Its upsetting," said Jeff Vontungeon, who has lived on the Tatullipes block for one year. The Vontongeons told NBC 7, Scott is full of life and was the first to welcome them to the neighborhood. He said they talked about home improvement projects and kept an eye on each others homes if ever one was away on vacation. Scott is a teacher at Central Valley High School where Jackson was a freshman. He is described as the students favorite teacher. Valley Center-Pauma Unified School District superintendent, Mary Gorsuch told NBC 7, substitute teachers were made available for teachers having a hard time Tuesday. The district is also providing counseling for anyone who needs it. Nancy worked in Poway at Geicos offices. The family enjoyed going on vacations and had recently traveled to Europe. During a phone call with NBC 7, Nancy's father said he wants something good to come out of this loss. He wants everyone to think about the amount of pain they are going through as a family and community and not drink and drive. The Valley Center Real Estate Professionals has set up a PayPal account for the Latullipe family. San Diego Fire-Rescue Capt. Steven Michaels entered a guilty plea Wednesday to one felony count of corporal injury to a spouse. Michaels, 53, was arrested July 21 following an argument with his girlfriend. He originally faced felony charges of domestic violence and trying to dissuade a witness as well as a misdemeanor of tampering with a wireless device. On Wednesday, Michaels pleaded guilty to one felony charge, however, the judge can sentence the crime as a misdemeanor. The veteran fire captain has been arrested three times for cases of domestic violence. In the first two arrests, he was not charged with a crime. Michaels' record was brought up during the trial of a San Diego man who stabbed two firefighters in the East Village in June 2015. Video evidence showed Michaels made contact with the defendant, shoving him into a bench. Defense attorneys questioned Michaels in court regarding two domestic violence arrests one in 2006 and one in December 2015. He said in court that in the 2006 incident, he punched his wife who was seven months pregnant at the time. No disciplinary action was taken against Michaels after the first domestic violence arrest. Charges were not filed. "We took no action because his behavior posed no threat to other employees or to the public," then-SDFD spokesperson Lee Swanson said. City pay data shows Michaels was promoted from fire engineer to fire captain after the first arrest. Michaels testified in court that In the December 2015 incident, he kicked in his girlfriends door. It was determined that charges would not be filed, according to the City Attorneys Office. "Our office reviewed the evidence and statements in this case and determined that domestic battery charges could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt," City Attorney Spokesman Gerry Braun said at the time. The fire department follows the City of San Diego Civil Service Rule XI when it comes to employees convicted of a crime. The regulations cover all employees and state an employee faces suspension or removal under various circumstances including: The majority of Australians support the country becoming the 26th nation to legalize same-sex marriage, the results of a survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. More than three quarters of the country's eligible voters took part in the non-compulsory survey, NBC News reported. The poll is non-binding but the government has pledged to put a proposal to parliament if voters were in favor of same-sex marriage. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said 61.6 percent of voters cast their ballots in support of same-sex marriage, with 38.4 percent opposing. With the rising tide of anti-LGBTQ laws and crackdowns around the world, citizens of Australia stood up for fairness and equality by supporting the right for everyone to marry the person they love, Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO, wrote in a statement. Now it is on the Australian government to heed the will of its people and pass fully equal marriage without exemptions." A judge sentenced two brothers for their involvement in a four-person vigilante mob robbery in which a man on Metro was beaten by three men and a boy. The judge said the men laughed as they left a Metro station with stolen credit cards and a phone. Less than two hours later, the group boarded a Metrobus and robbed another man. Antwan Haynie, 19, was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbery. His brother, Marcus James Lee, 21, was sentenced to six years for robbery. The first victim, who was beaten and robbed on a Red Line train headed toward Wheaton, told News4 that he lost his job because of the attack. I no longer use the Metro. I no longer take the bus, he said, At any moment, I feel like Im going to get attacked. News4 reported that about 5:40 p.m. Sunday, April 16, four suspects went up to a man on a train as the train approached the Wheaton station. One suspect sat next to the man and said, I need you to give me the password for that phone and look the other way, otherwise it will not end well for you, according to police. When the man refused to give them his phone, multiple suspects began punching his face and head, police said. Metro police said one suspect told the man "Give me that damn phone!" During the beating, the suspects went through the man's pockets and stole several of his credit and debit cards. The suspects ran off the train and out of the station once the train stopped, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital, News4 reported. The group then boarded a Q1 Metro bus and continued their crime spree. In Silver Spring, they surrounded a man who was headed home on the bus. They beat him and stole his iPhone. One adult and a juvenile were already sentenced for the robberies. The two of you have brought shame to your family because you decided to act like a vigilante mob of some kind, Montgomery County judge Cheryl McCally said. This community is not going to be held hostage by thugs terrorizing them. Theres a price to pay. One victim, who asked not to be identified, said he was satisfied with the sentences but wont ride buses or trains alone anymore. The U.S. Justice Department is threatening the District of Columbia and 28 other states and jurisdictions with a loss of millions of dollars in federal crime-fighting funds. The Justice Department says in a new letter to the local governments that they have so-called sanctuary city policies that may undercut federal immigration enforcement. The District and other jurisdictions have until Dec. 8 to certify that local policies dont conflict with federal enforcement. The District stands to initially lose about $1.7 million. D.C. is the only Washington-area government affected by the letter. The Justice Department contends an order by Mayor Muriel Bower restricts police from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The mayors order bars local law enforcement and other agencies from routinely inquiring about the immigration status of anyone arrested. D.C. contends it is not an agent of federal immigration authorities and that questioning immigration status would make people reluctant to cooperate with police or seek medical treatment or social programs. The DOJ would cut funding to "important violence-prevention efforts," D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said in a statement. Our utmost priority is ensuring the safety of all of our residents, regardless of their immigration status. DOJs threat to cut off funding for important public safety programs is counterproductive and wrong-headed. Our city is safer when all our residents trust local law enforcement. The District is in compliance with all federal laws. We will review DOJs letter and are prepared to defend our residents however necessary. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton tweeted that the District "will not be intimidated by the Trump administration. We will continue to protect our immigrant residents as they continue to contribute so much to our city." Mayor Bowser reiterated Racine and Norton's statements and tweeted "#leaveusalone." DC is already great not simply bc we are diverse but bc we we celebrate our diversity. We are a #saferstrongerDC when all people regardless of status can call the police, go to school or seek medical aid. We will stand w/ @EleanorNorton & @AGKarlRacine to defend DC. #leaveusalone https://t.co/KoTzOHqksT Muriel Bowser (@MurielBowser) November 16, 2017 Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vowed to get tough on jurisdictions that limit sharing information on immigration. Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco have filed lawsuits against the Justice Department. The cities contend DOJ does not have the authority to withhold federal grants over immigration issues. The courts have temporarily blocked the Justice Department from withholding any grants until the court suits are resolved. Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story. An Ohio school is citing recent attacks in Texas and New York for cancelling its annual field trip to D.C. Schools across the country and around the world send thousands of students on field trips to D.C. each year. The North Ridgeville City school districts decision to cancel their trip could set a new precedent for how schools should respond to growing safety concerns nationwide. Parents from the Ohio school said they feared something like the truck attack in New York could happen in Washington. Some parents said they would refuse to send their kids on the trip if the students travelled to D.C., according to Superintendent Dr. Jim Powell. Teachers who would chaperone the trip for about 300 eighth graders had similar concerns. Powell finally cancelled the trip after a man who threatened to kill white police officers was arrested outside the White House earlier this month. Elliot Ferguson, who leads D.C.s tourism efforts, said this is common. This not the first time its happened, but quite frankly, the concern should be for any city, said Ferguson. D.C. is a city that prides itself on safety and security. The reality is, there is no such thing as a 100 percent safe place, the Destination D.C. president and CEO said. North Ridgeville is considering closer options of a nearby museum or Ohios capital of Columbus for its school trip. The school is not comfortable with sending students out of state, said Powell. Following President Donald Trump's visit to Beijing, China said Wednesday that it would send a high-level special envoy to North Korea amid an extended chill in relations between the neighbors over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile programs. Song Tao, the head of China's ruling Communist Party's International Department, will travel to Pyongyang on Friday to report on outcomes of the party's national congress held last month, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Xinhua said Song, as president and party leader Xi Jinping's special envoy, would carry out a "visit" in addition to delivering his report, but gave no details about his itinerary or meetings. It also made no mention of Trump's trip to Beijing or the North's weapons programs, although Trump has repeatedly called on Beijing to do more to use its influence to pressure Pyongyang into altering its behavior. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang downplayed any connection between Song's trip and Trump's visit, saying it was "common practice" for the Communist Party and North Korea's ruling Worker's Party to exchange views. "The purpose of this visit is to brief about the party congress and exchange views on issues of common interest and bilateral interest," Geng said at a regularly scheduled briefing. Song would be the first ministerial-level Chinese official to visit North Korea since October 2015, when Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan met with leader Kim Jong Un. Liu delivered a letter to Kim from Xi expressing hopes for a strong relationship, although the respite in frosty ties proved short-lived. Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin visited Pyongyang in October of last year. The two ruling parties have long-standing ties that often supersede formal diplomacy, even while Beijing has long been frustrated with Pyongyang's provocations and unwillingness to reform its economy. However, Song is not directly connected to China's efforts to convince Pyongyang to cease its nuclear weapons program and return to talks, downplaying the chances for a breakthrough in that highly contentious area. China is also North Korea's largest trading partner and chief source of food and fuel aid, although it says its influence with Kim's regime is often exaggerated by the U.S. and others. While it is enforcing harsh new U.N. sanctions targeting the North's sources of foreign currency, Beijing has called for steps to renew dialogue. Beijing is also opposed to measures that could bring down Kim's regime, possibly depriving it of a buffer with South Korea and the almost 30,000 U.S. troops stationed there, and leading to a refugee crisis and chaos along its border with the North. In Beijing last week, Trump urged Xi to pressure North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons program. China can fix the problem "easily and quickly," Trump said in remarks to journalists alongside Xi. He urged Xi to "hopefully work on it very hard." "If he works on it hard, it will happen. There's no doubt about it," Trump said. While calling the visit significant, a top Chinese expert on North Korea relations downplayed any connection with Trump's statements in Beijing, saying it fit a pattern of traditional exchanges between the two parties following significant events such as national congresses. "Representatives are dispatched to brief the other side at a chosen time and chosen level. It is a tradition and it is unnecessary to connect it with Trump's visit to China," said Guo Rui, researcher at the Institute for North Korean and South Korean Studies at Jilin University in northeastern China. However, he said the visit "shows China's willingness to see a continuous development of the friendly relations between the two sides." "Although the Korean Peninsula situation has been evolving fast with worrisome indications, the two parties are maintaining normal exchanges, and that is of significance for stabilizing the bilateral relations and the peninsular situation," Guo said. The nature of Song's visit as a party-to-party exchange rather than one between the two governments appears to paint it as a bilateral attempt to strengthen relations, said John Delury, a professor at Seoul's Yonsei University who specializes in Korea and China. The fact that Song was identified as Xi's special envoy also suggests that Xi is personally making a push to open the channel at a higher level and engage more constructively with Kim, Delury said. "This is a chance to see if he can open things up," he said. "The relationship has been so frosty, it will be interesting to see if there's some improvement in the bilateral ties." North Korea staged its sixth nuclear test on Sept. 3, detonating what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb, and last launched a ballistic missile on Sept. 15, firing it over the Japanese island of Hokkaido into the Pacific Ocean. Since then, there has been a lull in such activity, leading to some hopes in Beijing that Pyongyang might be responding to international pressure and becoming more amenable to talks. Song's visit to Pyongyang also comes as China and South Korea are repairing their relations, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in scheduled to visit next month for talks with Xi. Previously warm ties soured last year over Seoul's decision to deploy a sophisticated U.S. missile defense system aimed at guarding against North Korean threats. Beijing claimed the THAAD system damaged its own security because its radars could observe military movements within northeastern China and retaliated by banning Chinese tour groups from visiting and interfering in the China operations of South Korean companies. While South Korea resisted China's demands to withdraw the system, Beijing appeared satisfied with a pledge from Seoul not to expand it, among other commitments. Associated Press writer Foster Klug contributed to this report. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is leaving open the possibility that a special counsel could be appointed to look into Clinton Foundation dealings and an Obama-era uranium deal, the Justice Department said Monday in responding to concerns from Republican lawmakers. In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, which is holding an oversight hearing Tuesday, the Justice Department said Sessions had directed senior federal prosecutors to "evaluate certain issues" raised by Republican lawmakers. President Donald Trump has also repeatedly called for investigations of Democrats. Sessions told the Republican chairman of the committee that the investigation "will be done without political influence," and told the ranking Democratic member that "the Department of Justice can never be used to retaliate against political opponents." The prosecutors will report to Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and recommend whether any new investigations should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require additional resources and whether it might be necessary to appoint a special counsel to oversee a probe, according to the letter sent to Rep. Robert Goodlatte of Virginia, the Judiciary Committee's Republican chairman. The letter from Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd did not say what specific steps might be taken by the Justice Department to address the lawmakers' concerns, or whether any of the matters Republicans have seized on might already be under investigation by federal authorities. Sessions did not address those issues in the first hour of the hearing. Any appointment of a new special counsel, particularly in response to calls from members of Congress or from Trump himself, is likely to lead to Democratic complaints about an undue political influence on a department that is supposed to function outside of any partisan sway or demand. Indeed, ranking committee member Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., asked about several tweets Trump has sent about the Department of Justice. "A president cannot improperly influence an investigation, and I have not been improperly influenced," Sessions said. Trump in recent weeks has repeatedly weighed in on departmental affairs, publicly lamenting that he does not have more direct involvement in its operations and calling for law enforcement scrutiny of Democrat Hillary Clinton, his opponent in the 2016 presidential race, and other Democrats. He has expressed particular support for investigating the Clinton Foundation and at times has berated his attorney general and suggested his job could be in jeopardy. "Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn't looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems..." Trump tweeted earlier this month. In apparent anticipation of those concerns, Boyd said in the letter that the Justice Department "will never evaluate any matter except on the facts and the law." "Professionalism, integrity and public confidence in the Department's work is critical for us, and no priority is higher," he added. Sessions said at his January confirmation hearing that he would recuse himself from any investigations involving Clinton given his role as a vocal campaign surrogate to Trump. He similarly recused himself from a separate investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, and in May, the Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to lead that probe. House Republicans in recent weeks have launched their own probes into the Obama administration and Clinton's emails. Some lawmakers have specifically said they want to know more about whether President Barack Obama's Justice Department had been investigating the purchase of American uranium mines by a Russian-backed company in 2010. The agreement was reached while Clinton led the State Department and some investors in the company had relationships with former President Bill Clinton and donated large sums to the Clinton Foundation. The letter comes one day before Sessions is to appear before the Judiciary panel for a Justice Department oversight hearing. Democrats on the committee have already signaled that they intend to press Sessions on his knowledge of contacts between Russians and aides to the Trump campaign. Advocates on the front lines of fighting hunger in Vermont say roughly 1 in 10 households in the state dont always have enough food to eat. Its a topic thats coming into focus as Thanksgiving approaches, and as Congress prepares to reauthorize the Farm Bill and its nutrition assistance programs. At the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf in Burlington, executive director Rob Meehan said approximately 20,000 people in Chittenden County are food insecure. To help ensure more people in the Burlington area can enjoy a holiday meal, the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf is now whittling away at its goal of collecting 3,500 turkeys from community donors. "Our community is really wonderful, helping feed each other," Meehan said. At the tiny Elf Food Shelf housed inside the Green Mountain Community Alliance Church in Duxbury, director Ruth Haskins said she and food shelves like hers statewide aim to get their neighbors the meals they need, not just at Thanksgiving, but year-round. "People in our community work very hard," Haskins said. "And most people in our community never earn enough money." Marissa Parisi, the executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said Vermont has made encouraging progress addressing food insecurity, especially with children. However, food insecurity remains a challenge for about 10 percent of the population, she said. "Its still a pretty epidemic problem," Parisi told necn. Parisi noted that many senior citizens are still struggling with nutrition. "I would really encourage anyone in Vermont, if you know a senior who lives alone at home and you have the opportunity to invite them to your holiday dinner, to do that to help build that [social] connection," Parisi said. Firm numbers on hungry seniors are hard to come by, Parisi said, because she believes the population underreports its needs. Great-grandmother Arlene Woods goes to Burlingtons Heineberg Senior Center for well-balanced meals. "They treat us like queens here," Woods said during lunchtime at the senior center Tuesday. Woods said she does worry about other older Americans access to food, and the socializing that comes with it. "Its difficult when you get older," she noted. Back at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, Meehan said the centers turkey drive will continue into next week at the facility on North Winooski Avenue in Burlington. Monetary donations are also welcome, Meehan said, since the food shelf can use it to buy food. The Elf Shelf will also be accepting donations of turkeys and other holiday fixings this Saturday morning starting at 9 a.m. at the Community Alliance Church on Route 100 in Duxbury. A 25-year-old Chinese citizen is facing federal charges in Massachusetts after officials say she took the GRE graduate school entry exam for other people. Federal prosecutors say Yinyan Wang was arrested Monday in Pennsylvania on visa and passport fraud charges. The U.S. attorney's office for Massachusetts says Wang will be brought to Boston later this week. Prosecutors say she took the exam for another Chinese citizen Oct. 20 in Boston with false identification documents. Authorities also say Wang took the GRE or the Test of English as a Foreign Language Exam, called the TOEFL, five other times between July and August. Prosecutors say each charge carries a minimum 10-year prison sentence. It's unclear if Wang has hired an attorney. Gov. Charlie Baker has appointed Col. Kerry Gilpin to serve as the new superintendent and colonel of the Massachusetts State Police. A 24-year veteran of the state police, Gilpin most recently served as deputy division commander of the Division of Standards and Training. Her appointment is effective immediately. "It is the mission of the Massachusetts State Police to keep the Commonwealth safe and I have the utmost confidence that Colonel Gilpin will excel as the leader of our tremendous police force," Baker said in a statement. "Colonel Gilpin brings decades of experience and knowledge to her post, with a deep understanding of the state police force at every level. I thank Colonel Gilpin for her dedication and willingness to serve the Commonwealth in this important position, and look forward to working with her to protect our communities." In addition to her role coordinating the training for new state police recruits, Gilpin has served in the Crime Scene Services section as a trooper and sergeant and as a lieutenant in the Division of Field Services, the Staff Inspections Section and the Harassment Investigation Unit. "Whether working to protect public safety from internal threats such as the terrible scourge of opioids or from those seeking to attack us from outside our borders, the role of the Massachusetts State Police has never been more important than it is today," Gilpin said in a statement. "I am honored to lead this great organization forward and look forward to carrying out this vital mission in close collaboration with our local and federal partners." Massachusetts State Police Col. Richard McKeon retired last week after two state police troopers accused commanders of forcing them to alter police reports. Massachusetts State Police Deputy Superintendent Francis Hughes, McKeon's second-in-command, is also stepping down. Trooper Ryan Sceviour filed a lawsuit stemming from an incident in October, when he arrested Alli Bibaud on drunk driving charges in Worcester. The daughter of District Court Judge Tim Bibaud, she allegedly made inappropriate statements, according to the original police report. Sceviour said he was ordered to delete inappropriate remarks about sex acts and drugs Bibaud allegedly made. Trooper Ali Rei said she plans to file a similar lawsuit accusing commanders of forcing her to alter a police report. The state's attorney general is investigating to see if anything criminal may have taken place, as there are allegations public records may have been destroyed. Baker said Gilpin has reviewed standards. "She knows we expect her to do a review of the policies, procedures and protocols associated with editing arrest reports," said Baker. Dana Pullman of the Mass. State Police Association said officers are ready to work with Gilman. "I just had a conversation with the Colonel herself, and it was completely positive and the Union is thrilled to get off on a new foot and get things moving," said Pullman. "She is a hard worker, I've never heard a bad word said about her, she completes every assignment that has gone forward, and given to her, and she has moved up the ranks the way you are supposed to," he added. A man Maine is facing charges after police say he crashed into a diner in Sanford on Tuesday afternoon, seriously injuring a patron inside. Police said three vehicles had been involved in a crash at the intersection of Pioneer Avenue and Washington Street at 3:36 p.m. when Mark Nolet, 28, of Sanford, hit the Third Alarm Diner. A man inside the diner was taken to Maine Medical Center by helicopter where he is listed in serious condition. The victim has not been identified. The diner suffered extensive damage and will remain closed until repairs can be made. Nolet was arrested for operating without a license and is due in court Jan. 9, 2018. The exact cause of the crash remains under investigation. It began with an idea for a school project: to collect donations for the people of Houston following Hurricane Harvey. "I wanted to do something to help out, said Stella Eliopoulos. We collected stuff like canned food, perishable foods, toiletries and clothing, we got a good amount of stuff, I was really surprised at the amount that we got. There was just one problem for the Medford High School senior, whose project was part of the schools Center for Citizenship and Social Responsibility program. The program teaches students about becoming global leaders. We didnt really plan out the details as well as we could have, the 17-year-old said. "We actually had so much stuff we didnt have sufficient funds as a non-profit to ship it all down. It would be too expensive. After calling around to countless organizations for help and watching the donations just sit there for six weeks, there was just one thing to do. We decided you know if theres no other way to get it down there, wed have to drive them down ourselves so we rented out a U-Haul, said the teen. So Stella and her dad packed up the truck and took it all down to a church and distribution center in Houston, a trip for which she is grateful. I was really able to see the actual devastation, said Eliopoulos. "It was good to see the difference I was making. The U-Haul rental, the trip down South and the plane tickets back to Boston cost about $2,500. That money came out of pocket so now Stella is trying to fundraise to recoup some of the costs. Heartbroken and sick with worry, Vietnam veteran Chuck Colacchio is desperately searching for his service dog Sam, whos been missing from Mary Cummings Park in Woburn, Massachusetts since last Thursday. "Each day that goes by it gets worse you know," said Colacchio. The Green Beret and the 85-pound Ridgeback/hound mix are inseparable, as Sam helps Chuck with everything from his laundry to picking up on sounds Chuck may not hear. "Hes there with me all the time, were literally inches apart," said Colacchio. "And he just looks over his shoulder to see if Im there." Colacchio says he and his dog were walking down a path when something spooked Sam, who took off down a fence line into the woods, dragging his leash behind him. "Our great concern is he could be caught in a branch or debris of the wooded area, entangled," said Melissa Loperfido Dutro. Dutra is one of the volunteers with Missing Dogs Massachusetts who have been tirelessly searching for Sam, putting up countless fliers and walking the woods. "We immediately set out bedding of the dog to get a familiar scent," said Dutra. "Some clothing of the owner, also we got him some fresh, hot food set that out and also set a trail camera." The non-profit group even called in a professional pilot who flew a drone with an infrared camera over 120 acres of woods near where Sam went missing. Chuck is willing to try anything to find his best friend. "He means everything, I dont know what its going to be if I dont get him back," said Colacchio while fighting back tears. A Massachusetts man faced a judge Wednesday after allegedly threatening a woman with a piece of steel during a road rage incident. Scott Lawrence, 58, of Dracut was charged by Winchester police with assault by means of a dangerous weapon and posted a $100 bail on Tuesday night following his arrest earlier that day. Police say Lawrence had cut off the victim at the Winchester Center traffic rotary around 1 p.m., and when the victim honked her car's horn at him, Lawrence stopped and left his car while holding a long piece of steel. Lawrence and the woman allegedly exchanged words before Lawrence got back into his car and drove eastbound on Church Street. Lawrence was stopped by police officers later on Church Street near Bacon Street, when he was arrested without incident. Because he had posted his bail last night, he was able to walk in and out of Woburn District Court Wednesday, where he was ordered to stay away from the victim. He declined to speak with reporters outside of court. He's due back in court in January. It's unclear if he has an attorney. James Allen finds some great Italian whites and some warming Southern Hemisphere reds that won't break the bank As winter draws ever closer and Christmas is looming over the horizon, I thought I would look at bottles that are great value at under 10 so some excellent drinking, without breaking the bank weve got super Italian whites, a really good Pinot Noir from Romania and some warming Southern Hemisphere reds. Winemaker Series, The Red Many of us have heard of the Chocolate Block from South Africa. Using grapes from the same vineyards, winemaker Mark Kent has created an exclusive blend of Cab Sauvignon, Syrah and Cinsault, but at a cracking price. Beautiful dark berry flavours and a lovely smell of blackberry leaves dominate this wine. Great with any dish with a meaty sauce or with cheese in the evening. Majestic, Newbury, 9.99 Cantina Cellaro Grillo Glorious wine that starts off with lemony freshness before the palate softens out and it finishes with a lovely peachy depth. The package is great too. Part of Grapesmiths Quaff selection of excellent value wines for everyday drinking. Grapesmith, Hungerford, 9.95 Bodegas Puerta Vieja, Rioja, Spain Classic Rioja, savoury fine backbone with bramble fruits and good power. This Rioja mixes old world complex flavour with pure fruit-driven palate. There has been no oak ageing so the fruit flavours shine through. Great price. The Naked Grape, Hungerford, 8 Lautarul Pinot Noir, Cramele Recas 2016 The Cramele Recas estate is located on the far western fringes of Romanias Transylvania/Banat region, where wines have been produced since the mid 15th century. Here, the winemaking team of Hartley Smithers (Australia) and Nora Iriate (Spain) works closely with a team of Romanian viticulturists and winemakers to create a series of modern, fruit-driven wines. This Lautarul Pinot Noir is a light, clean, red cherry-scented wine. It is fresh and bright great value for a good quality Pinot Noir. Haynes Hanson & Clark, Whitchurch, 7.20 Definition Gavi, 2016 Gavi derives from north western Italy near Piedmont. With Burgundy prices on the rise, this offers very similar flavours for a far more reasonable price. Packed with apple flavours and a light body, it makes a great aperitif wine or to have with salads, chicken or seafood dishes. Majestic, Newbury, 9.99 Malbec, Las Pampas Grapes are carefully hand-picked to produce a fruity red with intense colours. With aromas of ripe plums, strawberries and blackberries, Las Pampas Malbec is a soft and juicy wine with silky tannins and balance acidity. Classic Malbec from Mendoza. Haynes Hanson & Clark, 8.80 Vigneti Del Salento I Muri Primitivo Deep ruby red colour with violet reflections. This wine has red berry fruit perfumes with a hint of spice. Full-bodied with firm tannins, this wine is well balanced, with lots of ripe fruit flavours. Innathome, Newbury, 9.95 Tastings Naked Grape, Hungerford Saturday, November 18 12noon-6pm Christmas Wine Festival an open house tasting, free to attend and full of wines, drinks and refreshments for the festive period. Innathome, Newbury Friday, November 17 7.15pm Fortified wine tasting - 25 per ticket Friday, November 24 7.15pm Sparkling wine tasting - 30 per ticket Advancing research to reduce the cancer burden at the Canadian Cancer Research Conference VANCOUVER: Researchers from across Canada will share discoveries at the 2017 Canadian Cancer Research Conference (CCRC), Canada's only national forum showcasing the entire spectrum of cancer research. (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629749 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629749 173O212O198O32) The conference, hosted by the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance will be at the Vancouver Convention Centre from November 5-7. It is made possible by the supportership of several organizations, including cancer research funders and industry."Research is the only way through which the knowledge needed to decrease the death and suffering from cancer can be gained," said Dr. David Huntsman, Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynaecology at The University of British Columbia and staff pathologist at the BC Cancer Agency. "The CCRC provides an opportunity for cancer researchers to learn about novel ideas, tools and approaches, liaise with patients, inspire new investigators and trainees, and continue to make progress in our efforts to understand the inherent complexities of cancer."Planning of the scientific program was led by three notable cancer scientists: Drs. Gerald Batist (Segal Cancer Centre and McGill University), Shoukat Dedhar (BC Cancer Agency and The University of British Columbia) and Christine Friedenreich (Alberta Health Services and The University of Calgary). This year's meeting will feature several important plenaries on topics as diverse as the burden of cancer from the epidemiological, economic, and psychosocial perspectives, the bold new world of cancer immunotherapies, and our growing understanding of the key metabolic changes at play in cancer cells. A slate of research leaders from Canada and abroad will be speaking at the 1,000-delegate conference. Nearly 600 posters will be presented over the three days.In addition to the scientific program, the conference will host its inaugural Patient Involvement in Cancer Research Program, where patients and caregivers interested in advancing the cancer research agenda by incorporating the patient voice, will learn about the research process, their prospective roles in it, and interact with scientists in the spirit of mutual learning.The "Celebration of Science" lecture will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT on Monday November 6. This public event will showcase the achievements of Dr. Connie Eaves, Distinguished Scientist at the Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency and Professor of Medical Genetics at The University of British Columbia. Dr. Eaves will share her personal journey as a cancer researcher, her own world class research in normal and cancer stem cell biology, and her observations on how our understanding of cancer has evolved over the past half century. Sorry, that page not found! Please visit our Home Page for latest updates 4 Nepal Police DIGs named for promotion The Home Ministry on Tuesday recommended four deputy inspector generals for promotion to additional inspector generals of Nepal Police. PM Modi ends successful ASEAN engagements, departs for India Manila [Philippines], Nov. 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday departed for India after a series of productive bilateral and multilateral engagements in Manila. (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629750 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629750 173O212O198O32) During his three-day visit, the Prime Minister met various world leaders like: United States President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi addressed 15th ASEAN-India Summit and exhorted the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to intensify cooperation in fighting terrorism."We have individually strived very hard to fight terrorism and violent extremism. It is time that we jointly address this challenge by intensifying cooperation in this crucial area," Prime Minister Modi said.The Prime Minister assured the ASEAN of India's support in maintaining regional security."India's Act East Policy is shaped around the ASEAN, and its centrality in the regional security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region is evident. India assures the ASEAN of its steady support towards achieving a rules-based regional security architecture that best attests to the region's interests and its peaceful development," Prime Minister Modi said.The Prime Minister also invited the ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests at 2018 Republic Day celebrations.On Monday, the Prime Minister told the ASEAN Business and Investment summit that his government wants to make India a manufacturing hub.Exhorting the businessmen to invest in India, the Prime Minister said that most sectors of the Indian economy are open for foreign investment.Before addressing the summit, Prime Minister Modi also met United States President Donald Trump.After meeting Trump, he told media, "The relations between India and the US are growing. Our relations go further for future interests of Asia and humanity."He further added the US and India would come up to the expectations of the world and the US.The ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian states which promotes Pan-Asianism and intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, military, educational and cultural integration amongst its members and Asian states. 7-Eleven Gives Unbanked Access to Online Shopping with Amazon Cash IRVING, Texas: Online shoppers who don't have a credit card, or prefer not to use one for purchases, can now use Amazon Cash to add funds to their Amazon.com Balance at almost 8,000 7-Eleven stores in the U.S.. (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629751 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629751 173O212O198O32) The process is simple. To load money into their Amazon account, customers present their personalized Amazon barcode to a 7-Eleven cashier along with the money they wish to load. That amount of Amazon Cash will immediately appear in their online Amazon account and be available for use. Between $15 and $500 can be loaded in a single transaction, with no fees charged."7-Eleven has long been an advocate for giving customers many options on how to pay for products and services," said Tony Stapleton, 7-Eleven senior product director. "7-Eleven constantly updates and introduces new forms of payments to respond to continued shifts in customer preferences, life styles, and adoption of new technologies."7-Eleven began offering online shoppers in-store conveniences five years ago when it installed bright yellow Amazon Lockers at select locations for package deliveries. First installed in stores in Seattle and Manhattan, the Lockers are now available in select stores in more than 300 cities. The Lockers provide access so customers can pick up their purchases at times convenient to them.For consumers wanting to give the gift of Amazon, 7-Eleven also carries prepaid gift cards in two designs, the classic "A" card and a "Happy Birthday" version. The cards are fee-free, never expire, and are available in multiple denominations; from $25 to $500 can be loaded and redeemed for millions of items storewide on Amazon.com. InComm Celebrates 25 Years of Prepaid Innovation in Atlanta's Transaction Alley ATLANTA: November 4, 2017 marks the 25th anniversary of InComm, the leading prepaid products and payments technology company headquartered in downtown Atlanta. (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629751 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 14 November 2017, 1668629751 173O212O198O32) Founded by Brooks Smith in 1992, InComm began with a unique vision for the telecommunications industry. Today, InComm reaches more than 500,000 retail points across more than 30 countries with the mission to transform the global commerce experience through innovative prepaid and payments technology for retailers, brands and consumers.Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8000352-25-years-of-incomm/Over 20 years ago, Smith developed and patented point-of-sale activation (POSA) technology that made it possible for retailers to offer prepaid products a gift cards at the time a that could not be activated until they were paid for at the register. This one innovation became the foundation on which InComm, and the entire prepaid industry, was built. InComm's history of firsts shows that it not only facilitated prepaid transactions for the gift card market but also multiple others along its 25-year path.In 2005, InComm launched its financial services division to support its proprietary, branded suite of prepaid products and services, Vanilla, which includes single-load and reloadable cards, bill pay and account reload solutions - Vanilla Gift, OneVanilla, MyVanilla and VanillaDirect.In InComm's early days, gift cards were just that - gifts. But now, thanks to InComm-led prepaid innovations, they are also financial tools and payment alternatives. That evolution has allowed InComm to advance its mission and meet the ever-evolving payment needs of consumers in a variety of channels including retail, wireless, tolling and transit and healthcare and affinity, to name a few.Today, InComm partners with more than 1,000 of the most popular and recognizable brands in the world and manages $40 billion in annual transactions. To date, it owns 246 global patents and its workforce has exploded to meet the business' demands, employing more than 2,400 employees across its global offices."Brooks (Smith) said in those early years of InComm, 'If it's not impossible, it's possible,'" said Phil Graves, president of InComm. "It's this mindset that has driven InComm to be the leader in prepaid products and payments technology since day one, and we've carried it through in everything we do 25 years later." Bombay Barbeque treats underprivileged children on 'World Food Day' Mumbai (Maharashtra) , November 14 : Multi-chain restaurant, Bombay Barbeque on 'World Food Day' invited children from the underprivileged sections of the society and treated them to a wholesome meal. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629752 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/maharashtra-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629752 173O212O198O32) The famous multi-chain restaurant and grill had brilliantly struck an idea to initiate change and help manage the food crisis in the country on their own on October 16, in a unique manner.Their mission for World Food Day was simple and sweet, with focus lying on spreading happiness.Bombay Barbeque's goal in performing this extravagant plan of action was to give a complete food experience to the poor people of the society.Bombay Barbeque and its skilled set of team members on October 16 ventured out into areas of Mumbai which are stricken with hunger and poverty. The team set out on a hunt that morning and invited poor and hungry individuals to the Bombay Barbeque Andheri outlet between 4 pm to 6 pm.The chosen guests were served a wholesome meal including desserts while they were entertained with and delighted with an exquisite Bollywood dance performance by the Andheri dance team.On completion of their meals, they were given a take away Jalebis gift box."We're very happy that we conducted such a wonderful activity by helping the poor street kids. It was a small step towards CSR as we wanted to spread happiness on World Food Day and not just by donating food, we thought of giving few street kids a once in a lifetime experience. We promise to take this initiative to the next level by doing our bit in future because we believe "food should be for all," said Marketing Manager, Bombay Barbeque, Anupama Kanojia. PM Modi calls for investigation of N. Korea's proliferation links Manila [Philippines], November 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for an investigation of North Korea's proliferation links and hold into account parties who have supported these unlawful programmes. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629753 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629753 173O212O198O32) "Because of the recent development in the Korean peninsula, I think our Prime Minister also shared the same concerns which other leaders had about DPRK's pursuit of its missiles and nuclear weapons and then called for its complete verification and irreversible denucleraition of Korean peninsula," Secretary (East) in the Exernal Affairs Ministry Preeti Saran said in a press briefing."Prime Minister pointed out at the East Asia Summit meet that it was important North Korea's proliferation links must be investigated and to hold into account parties who have supported these unlawful programmes," she added.Saran further said that the Prime Minister also stressed on importance of safe secure and free navigation in the Indo pacific region and called for adherence to rule of law.Earlier in September, India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at her trilateral meeting with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, had sought investigations into North Korea's nuclear proliferation links. Indo-Kazakhstan joint military exercise concludes Bakloh (Himachal Pradesh), November 14 : The Indo-Kazakhstan joint military training exercise, PRABAL DOSTYK 2017 culminated on Tuesday with a grand closing ceremony at Bakloh Military Camp, Himachal Pradesh. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629754 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629754 173O212O198O32) The exercise was the second edition of the "PRABAL DOSTYK" series of exercises between the two countries; the first being "PRABAL DOSTYK 2016" which was conducted in Kazakhstan.The 14-day long joint training exercise included basic mutual orientation between the contingents of the two armies, joint training in counter insurgency/counter terrorist operations under the UN mandate and culminated with a validation exercise.The overall aim of the joint exercise was to understand each other's operational methodology and develop interoperability to enable joint operations by the two armies.Brigadier Navdeep Brar of the Indian Army presided over the closing ceremony.Besides the two participating contingents, the closing ceremony was also attended by observer delegations of both armies which comprised of senior ranking military officers.Personnel of both contingents expressed their satisfaction on the successful conduct of the joint exercise and were confident of having achieved a high degree of interoperability.The exercise also demonstrated the determination of the two armies in working closely with each other to eradicate the menace of terrorism in all its forms.The joint exercise was a resounding success and will go a long way in enhancing military ties between India and Kazakhstan. Agenda of reform The ultimate aim of a managerial civil service is to be able to provide traction to good governance PM Modi returns to India after attending ASEAN Summits in Philippines New Delhi , November 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to India on Wednesday after a series of productive bilateral and multilateral engagements in Manila. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629755 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629755 173O212O198O32) During his three-day visit, the Prime Minister met various world leaders like: United States President Donald Trump, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull.Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi addressed 15th ASEAN-India Summit and exhorted the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) to intensify cooperation in fighting terrorism."We have individually strived very hard to fight terrorism and violent extremism. It is time that we jointly address this challenge by intensifying cooperation in this crucial area," Prime Minister Modi said.The Prime Minister assured the ASEAN of India's support in maintaining regional security."India's Act East Policy is shaped around the ASEAN, and its centrality in the regional security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region is evident. India assures the ASEAN of its steady support towards achieving a rules-based regional security architecture that best attests to the region's interests and its peaceful development," Prime Minister Modi said.The Prime Minister also invited the ASEAN leaders to be the chief guests at 2018 Republic Day celebrations.On Monday, the Prime Minister told the ASEAN Business and Investment summit that his government wants to make India a manufacturing hub.Exhorting the businessmen to invest in India, the Prime Minister said that most sectors of the Indian economy are open for foreign investment.Before addressing the summit, Prime Minister Modi also met United States President Donald Trump.After meeting Trump, he told media, "The relations between India and the US are growing. Our relations go further for future interests of Asia and humanity."He further said that the U.S. and India would come up to the expectations of the world and the U.S.The ASEAN is a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising ten Southeast Asian states which promotes Pan-Asianism and intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, military, educational and cultural integration amongst its members and Asian states. Following Trump-Xi meeting, China to send special envoy to N Korea Beijing [China], November 15 : Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy will visit North Korea from Nov. 17, days after President Xi Jinping met with United States President Donald Trump, China's official Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629755 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629755 173O212O198O32) China has said it was sending a high-level special envoy to North Korea over its nuclear weapons and missile programmes, as reported by Xinhua.The official Xinhua News Agency said, "The director of the ruling Communist Party's International Liaison Department, Song Tao, will travel to Pyongyang on Friday to report on the party's national congress held last month."For the unversed, Trump has repeatedly called on China to do more to use its influence to pressure North Korea into altering its behaviour.Song would be the first ministerial-level Chinese official to visit North Korea since October 2015.Earlier, Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan had met with leader Kim Jong-un. Faculty and course members of 57th NDC course call on the President New Delhi : The faculty and course members of 57th NDC course, called on the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, today (November 14, 2017) at Rashtrapati Bhavan. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629756 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629756 173O212O198O32) Speaking on the occasion, the President said we live in a challenging and dynamic global environment. The very concept of security and defence is changing before our eyes. No longer is it limited to territorial integrity. Today, the idea of security incorporates economic and energy security, as well as concerns about food, health and the environment. The future of security is as much about preventing nuclear proliferation as about the integrity of the Internet and of data protection.The President said each of these areas requires specialisation and analysis. And yet, they are inter-linked. They demand an integrated approach from those responsible for our security - as well as a process of constant learning and knowledge updating.The President said India and its neighbourhood - and the broader Asian continent - are the location of multiple security threats and risks that are of global significance. Terrorism and violent extremism are common challenges. These challenges are both state-based and asymmetrical. Also, with globalisation and the technology revolution, Asia has emerged as the centre of the 21st century economy. Securing this economic rise and checking attempts to destabilise it will be an important task in the years ahead. Threats will come in all domains - from the maritime space to cyberspace.The President said this makes it important to promote a "strategic culture" in India and in all the partner countries represented at the NDC course. And he was confident that NDC alumni would contribute to strengthening an understanding of the multi-dimensional approach to security in the years to come. Opening Statement by Prime Minister at 15th ASEAN-India Summit, Manila (November 14, 2017) Your Excellency President Duterte, Excellencies, Mr. President, I am delighted to be on my first visit to Manila in this landmark 50th year of ASEAN's establishment. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629757 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629757 173O212O198O32) We are also celebrating 25 years of ASEAN - India dialogue partnership.I compliment the Philippines for its able stewardship of ASEAN during this significant year and thank you, Mr. President, for the excellent arrangements made for this Summit.I also thank the honourable Prime Minister of Vietnam for Vietnam's contribution as Country Coordinator to further strengthen the ASEAN-India partnership.Excellencies,ASEAN's remarkable journey is indeed worthy of reflection as much as it is of celebration. On this historic occasion, I am confident that ASEAN will further resolve to work together with one vision, one identity and as one independent community.India's Act East Policy is shaped around the ASEAN, and its centrality in the regional security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region is evident.Our wide-ranging agenda of cooperation under the 3rd ASEAN-India Plan of Action has progressed well covering the three crucial pillars of politico-security, economic and cultural partnership.Excellencies,Maritime links established thousands of years ago between India and ASEAN countries have enabled our trade relations in the past and we have to work closely to further strengthen them. India assures the ASEAN of its steady support towards achieving a rules-based regional security architecture that best attests to the region's interests and its peaceful development. We have individually strived very hard to fight terrorism and violent extremism. It is time that we jointly address this challenge by intensifying cooperation in this crucial area.Excellencies,The befitting theme of 'Shared Values, Common Destiny' for our 25th anniversary celebrations has been jointly celebrated with a number of commemorative activities. I look forward to a befitting culmination of the commemorative year and receiving you at the India-ASEAN Special Commemorative Summit on 25 January 2018 in New Delhi. The 1.25 billion people of India are keen to welcome the ASEAN Leaders as our Chief Guests at India's 69th Republic Day Celebrations. I am committed to working with you to realize our common destiny.Thank you. 'Joint Training Doctrine Indian Armed Forces - 2017' Released New Delhi : Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba released 'Joint Training Doctrine Indian Armed Forces - 2017' at a simple function here today. It is for the first time in the history of the Armed Forces that such a keystone document has been promulgated. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629757 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629757 173O212O198O32) The document has been prepared in a 'collegiate manner' involving all the three Service Headquarters and flowing from its mother and capstone Doctrine namely, Joint Doctrine Indian Armed Forces -2017 released in April last.The aim of the Doctrine is to promote 'Synergy' and 'Integration' amongst the three Services and other stake-holders leading to an enhanced efficiency and optimum utilisation of resources. Besides numerous advantages of the Doctrines, this document will also go a long way in 'fostering initiative' and 'stimulating creativity' for promoting 'Integration' between the three Services in times to come.The Doctrine brings out our approach to Joint training at macro-level, Fundamentals, Objectives, Joint Structures, Planning, Organisation amongst other aspects in existence and in use in the Armed Forces which have matured over 15 years of the existence of Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS). The concept includes 'Joint Training' as a leverage for promoting 'Diplomacy' and 'Civil - Military interface' issues have also been highlighted in the document. The recently concluded INDRA - 2017 and three Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Exercises held every year are some shining examples towards this end.This key stone Doctrine will basically serve as a 'foundation' and 'knowledge base' from which specific Directives and Strategies will be issued by the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee to the HQ IDS and Service HQs to consolidate proven concepts, structures, mechanisms, capacities, capabilities, etc, from time to time.Consequent to consolidation of Joint Training, this maiden Doctrine will be further developed in due course as Doctrines are always 'unfinished products' being 'Evolving in nature', for ready reference as 'Distilled wisdom' and a 'Referral document' for the policy makers, armed forces personnel, academia, etc.Chief of the Army Staff General Bipin Rawat, Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff to the Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (CISC) Lt Gen Satish Dua were also present on the occasion. Raksha Mantri Receives Sacred Soil of Two Martyred Soldiers of WWI New Delhi : Delegation of Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre today returned with the sacred soil from the resting place of two soldiers of 39 Garhwal Rifles. The urn was brought from Laventie, France and will be carried to the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Centre at Landsdowne. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629758 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629758 173O212O198O32) Today the two urns containing the sacred soil were handed over to the Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman by the delegation in a simple and solemn ceremony.On 12 November 2017 mortal remains of the two soldiers were sent on their final journey with full military honours at Military Cemetery, Laventie, France. A delegation comprising of Commandant and Subedar Major, two bagpipers from the Garhwal Rifles Regimental Center and Colonel Nitin Negi, grandson of late Naik Darwan Singh Negi, Victoria Cross, were present on the occasion. On behalf of the Chief of the Army Staff, homage was paid to the soldiers of Indian Meerut Division at Nueve Chapelle War Memorial by laying of wreaths by Brigadier Indrajit Chatterjee, Commandant and Subedar Major Trilok Singh Negi.On 20th September 2016 during an excavation work on southern side of the village of Richebourg near Laventie Military Cemetery approximately 230 Kms away from Paris two human remains were found and identified to be of soldiers of 39th Royal Garhwal Rifles. The office of Commonwealth War Graves Commission in consultation with the French Government and Indian Embassy in France decided to hold ceremony to rest them along with their comrades at Laventie Military Cemetery, with full military honors during the annual memorial service that is held to commemorate the Indian soldiers who were martyred in action in France and Belgium.During World War-I, the Garhwal Brigade comprising of 1st/39th and 2nd / 39th Royal Garhwal showed unparalleled bravery in treacherous trenches of France and Flanders. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with British soldiers the Gharwal Brigade earned six Battle Honours and two Victoria Cross in France and Flanders Theatre. Dr. Bhamre to Represent India at 'UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial: Vancouver 2017' New Delhi : Raksha Rajya Mantri Dr. Subhash Bhamre will represent the Government of India at the 'UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial: Vancouver 2017', which is being held between November 14-15, 2017. It will be the second time Dr. Bhamre will be attending the conference. He will be speaking on November 15. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629758 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629758 173O212O198O32) Over 500 delegates from more than 70 countries and international organisations are expected to gather at the Defence Ministerial in Vancouver. Along with representatives from the African Union, the European Union, NATO and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, these delegates are going to discuss improvements to UN peacekeeping operations.Decisive discussions will be taking place during the conference. While ensuring that the integration of gender perspective remains at the heart of the talks, these discussions will revolve around four themes.Focus will be on peacekeeping and youth as peacebuilders. The discussion will also explore the importance of economic development in preventing conflict in fragile states and in sustainably rebuilding post-conflict states.The last meeting was held in London in the month of September 2016. The conference had taken up issues on Women, Peace and Security, Pre and Post Deployment, Tackling Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA) and Improving Peacekeeping - Rapid Deployment. Hardeep Puri Asks HUDCO to Prioritize Affordable Housing New Delhi : Shri Hardeep S Puri, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister has asked HUDCO to prioritize Affordable Housing in all its endeavors to contribute to Housing for All by 2022. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629759 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629759 173O212O198O32) He was speaking at the inauguration of HUDCO Build Tech- 2017 pavilion at ITPO here today. Sh Ravi kanth, CMD, HUDCO was also present on the occasion. Addressing on the occasion, Sh Puri lauded HUDCO's contribution through financing a wide range of housing and infrastructure projects including roads, bridges, hospitals, metro rail, etc., and partnering in Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), NULM etc.Explaining to the Minister, CMD HUDCO informed that it is a techno-financial institution and the exhibition has tried to capture the multi-dimensional roles played by HUDCO towards sustainable development and particularly urban development.The exhibition focuses on the housing & infrastructure projects and innovative consultancy assignments in architecture, city planning, utilization of cost effective and sustainable building materials, technologies and services, and energy efficient Green Buildings, CSR etc."HUDCO's contribution is not just limited to affordable housing but also contributes through financing of national assets like Lucknow Agra Expressway, Bengaluru Metro Rail and Cochin International Airport etc. HUDCO has contributed to sustainable development through its financing of water supply schemes, riverfront development as well as creation of public spaces and conservation of lakes. The exhibition captures the tremendous work done by HUDCO for affordable housing and urban infrastructure in the country", he added.CMD, HUDCO informed that the company has also designed some landmark projects in the capital city of New Delhi, ecologically sensitive area of Sikkim as well as affordable housing in Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh. HUDCO is a Central Nodal Agency (along with NHB) for the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme (CLSS) component of the Govt. of India programme Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) - Urban. A corner in the exhibition showcases HUDCO's contribution towards successful implementation of this ambitious programme that aims to provide Housing for All by 2022.HUDCO has made a concerted effort to reach the unreached as well as support the flagship programmes of the Govt. of India such as Swachh Bharat and Skill India etc. Through its CSR assistance towards purchase of Mini Tippers for collection of solid waste in Guwahati and construction of toilets in schools, HUDCO has expressed its commitment in making our Prime Minister's dream of Swachh Bharat a reality. The construction of class rooms and skill development training are yet other examples to empower the downtrodden through education and livelihood promotion. HUDCO has also extended CSR assistance for construction of Night Shelters with sanitation facilities in many cities including Chennai Ahmedabad etc. to provide shelter to the most deprived sections of the society - the urban homeless.The exhibition showcases HUDCO's effort towards conservation of built heritage. HUDCO collaborated with National Culture Fund, a Govt. of India organization for conservation of Sunderwala Mahal, a protected Architectural heritage. A unique initiative of HUDCO is construction of a work shed in Gangtok for cobblers to protect them from the vagaries of nature and ensure uninterrupted work hours. Fourth Hunar Haat to be inaugurated by Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on 15th November, 2017 New Delhi : The fourth Hunar Haat exhibition is being organised by the Ministry of Minority Affairs at India International Trade Fair (IITF) at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 14th to 27th November, 2017. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629759 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629759 173O212O198O32) Addressing the media, the Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi stated that the Hunar Haats have become a successful mission to provide employment and income generation opportunities with platforms for marketing the products of master artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts belonging to the minority communities.Hunar Haats are organised by Ministry of Minority Affairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development) scheme. The USTTAD scheme aims at preserving & promoting the rich heritage of the traditional arts & crafts of the Minority communities. This is one of the flagship programmes of the Ministry.Replying to a question on the inspiration behind Hunar Haat, Shri Naqvi said that several traditional arts and crafts were under threat of vanishing due to various reasons, the Hunar Haats are aimed at reviving and preserving this rich heritage.The Minister further added, while on one hand Hunar Haats provide a platform to master artisans and craftsmen to display their rich heritage and skill, on the other hand these exhibitions bring both domestic and international markets to the artisans and craftsmen, empowering them with various resources. The National Minority Finance Development Corporation also supports them with financial aid/ loans etc.About 130 artisans from 20 States & Union Territories are participating in this Hunar Haat which include about 30 women artisans. Participants from Andhra Pradesh (2), Assam (2), Bihar (4), Delhi (24), Gujarat (11), Jammu and Kashmir (9), Jharkhand (1), Karnataka (4), Madhya Pradesh (5), Manipur (1), Mizoram (1), Nagaland (4), Puducherry (3), Punjab (2), Rajasthan (12), Tamil Nadu (1), Telangana (2), Uttar Pradesh (37), Uttarakhand (1) and West Bengal (4) are attending the exhibition.Shri Naqvi said that the artisans have brought with them very exquisite pieces of Handicraft & Handloom work like Cane & Bamboo & Jute Products of Assam; Tussar, Geeja, Matka Silk of Bhagalpur; Traditional Jewellery, Lac Bangles & Jewellery from Rajasthan & Telangana; Kantha Products of West Bengal; Brocades of Varanasi; Lucknawi Chikan Work, Zari Zardozi from U.P; Khurja Ceramic Products; Clay items, Blackstone Pottery, Dry Flowers and Traditional Handicrafts of North-East; Shawls, Carpets & Papier-mache of Kashmir; Ajrakh Print, Mutva, Kutch Embroidery & Bandhej of Gujarat; Batik/Bagh/Maheshwari of Madhya Pradesh; Aplique & Ajrakh of Barmer; Leather Products, Brassware of Moradabad; Kalamkari of Telangana. New products include baskets made from Natural Grass by artisans from Puducherry & UP; Gota patti work from Rajasthan, Mural paintings & Bandhej from Gujarat.The Minister said that crafts people in thousands are involved in the production of handicrafts on show and for sale in these Mega events/ exhibitions which keeps them employed for several months in a row. This ensures that there is Development with Dignity for these highly talented and skilled crafts people belonging to the minority communities. Shri Naqvi elaborated that this is true empowerment without appeasement, aaaaaa aa aaa aaaaaaaaa.The Minister informed that this Hunar Haat exhibition is unique from earlier exhibitions as for the first time products made by inmates of Delhi's Tihar Jail are also being showcased and sold which gives them a sense of self-dependency and appreciation. These products include furniture, handlooms, handicrafts, bakery items, hand-prepared oil, organic spices and grain.The Minister informed that this is the fourth Hunar Haat, the first two were held in Delhi and the third in Puducherry. More than 40 lakh people visited these three Hunar Haats. It is proposed to hold 10-12 Hunar Haats across the country in one calender year, starting with Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bhopal and other places. Besides this, the Ministry is also working to establish "Hunar Hub" in all states where artisans will be provided training and other facilities. Blasts targeting candidates cause for concern, say poll observers Election observation bodies have said that recent incidents of attacks on candidates for upcoming elections have raised questions over electoral security. Won't support anyone who distorts history for publicity: BJP MLA New Delhi , November 15 : In the wake of the controversy around the movie 'Padmavati', Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ram Kadam, who heads Film Studio Setting and Allied Majdoor Union, said on Wednesday that their union would not support anyone, who distorts history for publicity. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629761 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/more-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629761 173O212O198O32) Kadam added they would demand a ban, if need be.Speaking to ANI, Kadam said, "We will take decision this afternoon. Our union will not support a person who distorts history for the publicity of his film and will demand a ban if needed. If director (Sanjay Leela) Bhansali does not agree (to cut some scenes), our union will not let him shoot any film in the future."Earlier in the day, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti urged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to not issue a censor certificate to 'Padmavati' until the filmmakers delete "objectionable" scenes from the film."During the ancient times, women born in noble Hindu families never used to dance before the society; on the contrary, they used to fight with swords and make the enemy dance in the battle fields. Despite such a glorious history, Bhansali has shown queen Padmavati dancing," the organisation said.Turning down Bhansali's clarification on a scene between Rani Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji, it asked the director to show the film in the presence of the representatives of the Hindu organisations.On Tuesday, the Indian Film and TV Directors Association (IFTDA) held a press conference to extend support to the film and Bhansali.The period drama, slated to hit the theatres on December 1, stars Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maha Rawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Sultan Alauddin Khilji. Minister Goodale issues new direction on keeping children out of Canada's immigration detention system and keeping families together OTTAWA: As part of the Government of Canada's work to create a better, fairer immigration detention system, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, today issued Ministerial Direction to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on the treatment of minors in Canada's immigration detention system. This direction is in addition to improvements currently being made to the system. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629761 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629761 173O212O198O32) The key objective of the Ministerial Direction is to - as much as humanly possible - keep children out of detention, and keep families together. The Ministerial Direction makes it clear that the Best Interests of the Child must be given primary consideration. This will be achieved by actively and continuously seeking alternatives to detention when unconditional release is inappropriate. These alternatives can include in-person reporting, cash or performance bonds, community supervision and voice reporting. The Direction will also prohibit the segregation of minors.To implement the Direction, the CBSA issued a National Directive for the Detention or Housing of Minors to guide officers when making detention decisions.These initiatives are part of the new National Immigration Detention Framework (NIDF), announced in August 2016, which includes up to $138 million to improve immigration detention infrastructure, provide better mental and medical health services at CBSA immigration holding centres, expand partnerships and alternatives to detention, and reduce the number of minors in detention.With input from Canadians in public consultations earlier this year, the implementation of the NIDF is advancing. The CBSA will soon begin contract negotiations to have the Salvation Army, the John Howard Society of Canada and the Toronto Bail Program provide supervision and case management services to individuals released to the community, starting in spring 2018.At the same time, infrastructure projects are moving forward. Construction has started on the British Columbia Immigration Holding Centre (IHC); the initial schematic design has been finalized and an architect has been engaged to create a new IHC in Laval, Quebec; and construction and retrofit has begun at the Toronto IHC.In addition, the CBSA has entered into a contract with the Canadian Red Cross to begin monitoring detention conditions in CBSA and provincial detention centres. Detention statistics now are being regularly posted on the CBSA website to increase transparency about detention volumes across Canada. The CBSA has finalized detention agreements with provincial authorities in Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia. Finally, the provision of mental health and medical services in IHCs is being increased and the risk assessment process is being improved. All of these initiatives will help realize core objectives of the NIDF and contribute to the transformation of our immigration detention system.Quote"The Government of Canada is committed to keeping children out of immigration detention as much as humanly possible and keeping families together. We also want to effectively limit the use of detention to those difficult cases where there are serious concerns about the individual being unidentified, a flight risk or a danger to the public; and we need to minimize the use of provincial jails. While the United Nations has said that Canada's immigration detention system remains exemplary worldwide, better is always possible. Today's announcement reaffirms our commitment to an improved, fairer immigration detention system for the humane and dignified treatment of individuals while upholding public safety."- Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency PreparednessQuick FactsaImmigration detention is not punitive but exercised to ensure the integrity of the immigration system and to ensure public safety. Detention is a last resort and officers must always consider alternatives.aWith respect to vulnerable individuals, CBSA policy stipulates that, where safety or security is not an issue, detention is to be avoided and considered only as a measure of last resort for vulnerable populations, including elderly persons, pregnant women, victims of trafficking and minors.aChildren are detained only as a last resort. When parents are detained, CBSA officers work with parents and child welfare authorities. While alternatives are considered first, some parents have preferred their children to be housed with them.aIn 2016-2017, a total of 162 minors were detained or housed with parents or guardians in an Immigration Holding Centre. This represents a 19.4% decrease over the previous year (2015-2016) and a 30.2% decrease since 2014-2015. Camden County Plans Innovation and Research Park to Complement Spaceport WOODBINE, Ga: The Camden County Board of Commissioners released a report finding that a Spaceport Camden Innovation and Research Park will lead to expanded job growth and investment benefits for Camden County residents, as well as outside aeronautical firms looking to launch new projects. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629762 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629762 173O212O198O32) County leaders requested the analysis from Astralytical, a space analytics firm, to assess the opportunities an aerospace research park would provide.The report presents a collection of ideas for the area surrounding Spaceport Camden based on current facilities and programs, presumed spaceport needs, and potential supplemental and related markets. The report highlights the opportunity for Spaceport Camden to attract research, development, and space manufacturing facilities in coastal Georgia.The report's author, Astralytical founder Laura Forczyk, stated "Astralytical reviewed the facilities and activities at other launch sites around the country to determine best practices and identify the needs of space entrepreneurs. This report is intended to offer county leaders a framework for leveraging Spaceport Camden into a research and innovation hub for Georgia."Specifically, the Innovation and Research Park will seek to encourage the relocation, expansion and creation of businesses among both spaceport users and secondary support providers. Space related incubators and accelerator programs at the Innovation and Research Park would be designed to encourage small spin-off companies and startups inspired by Spaceport's activities. The report also showcases Spaceport Camden's potential to provide private spaceflight training, tourism, and community learning facilities."Ultimately, launch operations will only be a small part of the overall economic activity at Spaceport Camden," said Steve Howard, Camden County Administrator and Spaceport Camden Project Lead. "One thing we've learned from this project is that there is tremendous private sector investment in the commercial space industry and we want to position Spaceport Camden to take full advantage of that opportunity. As space companies plan larger constellations with smaller rockets, Spaceport Camden is ideally positioned to serve as the epicenter of the new innovation based economy. We also offer unique space manufacturing opportunities given our position on major transportation routes between other launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Wallops Island," added Howard.Spaceport Camden Innovation and Research Park is expected to follow Camden County's efforts to obtain a launch site operators license from the Federal Aviation Administration. Research, manufacturing and STEM education opportunities are all part of the county's larger strategic vision for Spaceport Camden. USF Announces First-of-a-Kind "Pay It Forward" Scholarship FORT WAYNE, Ind: The University of Saint Francis has announced a new scholarship available to incoming students who exhibit a commitment to service and helping others. Pay It Forward is a renewable scholarship that ranges from USD 2,000 to full tuition. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629762 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629762 173O212O198O32) First-time and transfer students seeking their first undergraduate degree at the Fort Wayne and Crown Point locations are eligible. Three recipients will be chosen for larger awards, with two students awarded half tuition and fees, and one student to receive full tuition and fees. Scholarship recipients will be announced in February 2018.The Pay it Forward scholarship is unique in that USF is the only university in the country that is offering service-based scholarships without limiting the number of awards, or applying economic thresholds or ethnic origin requirements, as evidenced by the university's primary research into university-sponsored service scholarships.To be considered for a Pay It Forward scholarship, applicants must write a compelling essay explaining how they help others. The deadline to apply for the service scholarship is January 1, 2018.Greenfield Central High School senior Amber Root from Indianapolis, Indiana, offers her perspective on the Pay It Forward scholarship opportunity: "Catholic or not, it (the scholarship) would be good for everyone who wants to help others." Root, who has volunteered at her church and Indianapolis's Riley Children's Hospital, plans to apply for the Pay It Forward scholarship."The University of Saint Francis has a long tradition of producing graduates with a deep sense of community and a dedication to serving others," said President Sister M. Elise Kriss, OSF. "The Pay It Forward scholarship has a direct connection to our Franciscan values. Rewarding applicants who are already living that value is the way we desire to pay it forward as a university." USF students complete a total of 25,000 hours of service each year through various community projects and campus initiatives. New Threats and Increased Competition Drive Innovation in Global Web Application Firewall Market LONDON: Web applications are vital technologies used by every online company to communicate with employees, partners, customers, and potential customers. The exposed nature of these applications provides hackers with many opportunities to test defences. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629763 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/uk-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629763 173O212O198O32) Furthermore, constantly changing technologies open up new opportunities for hackers to find vulnerabilities to exploit. Organisations of all sizes require comprehensive web application firewall (WAF) solutions to protect exposed threat vectors.Frost & Sullivan's research, Global Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Analysis, Forecast to 2021, finds that the WAF market is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 per cent from 2016 to 2021, reaching over $1.1 billion by 2021. The research provides a market overview of current challenges, drivers, restraints, forecasts and trends, with WAF product and cloud services segments discussed. Market share and competitive analysis of top players such as Akamai, Citrix, Cloudflare, F5 Networks, Fortinet, Imperva, Penta Security, Qualys, Radware, Sophos, and Wallarm are also provided.To access more information on this analysis, please click here."Web technologies are changing rapidly to support the global digital transformation trend, including proliferation of mobile devices, the Internet of Things and cloud computing. This rapid rate of change can present challenges for traditional WAF solutions," said Frost & Sullivan Network Security Senior Industry Analyst Chris Rodriguez. "WAF vendors must continue to innovate to address these new threats and add customer value by improving their product offering through innovative features such as API security, bot detection and controlled technology."To grow in a fast-paced environment, WAF vendors should:aSupport the application development lifecycle through deep integration with DAST/SAST tools;aEnable APT and threat hunting through adding complementary technologies such as SIEMs to help identify notable security events;aProtect applications with consistent policies, regardless of where they are deployed, including public and private cloud environments;aAddress emerging trends such as IoT risk; andaDeliver solutions for emerging verticals such as manufacturing."Demand for web security will increase, but WAF will not be considered a cure-all," noted Rodriguez. "WAF will be one of many web security technologies competing for security budget allocations in coming years."Global Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Analysis, Forecast to 2021 is part of Frost & Sullivan's Network Security Growth Partnership Service program. Canada affirms its commitment to global health priorities at G7 Health Ministers' Meeting OTTAWA: The Government of Canada is committed to working with G7 countries to strengthen collaboration on shared health priorities to maintain and improve the health and safety of Canadians and all citizens of the world. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629764 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629764 173O212O198O32) The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, and Dr. Theresa Tam, Chief Public Health Officer of Canada, participated in a meeting of G7 Health Ministers in Milan, Italy, on November 5 and 6, 2017. Discussions focused on three key themes: the impact of climate and environmental factors on health, women's and adolescents' health, and antimicrobial resistance.Discussions on the impact of climate and environmental factors on health included technical presentations from international organizations including the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health, and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss important issues including the need to build resilient health systems and to focus on vulnerable and marginalized populations.Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is a priority for the Government of Canada. The Minister reaffirmed Canada's support for advancing women's, children's and adolescents' health and nutrition, as a matter of gender equality and human rights.G7 Health Ministers agreed on the need for continued and sustained political action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Over the past two days, health ministers discussed prioritizing action on AMR, implementing national action plans, and contributing to surveillance and research. Canada is committed to the concerted, multi-sectoral efforts that are required to address antimicrobial resistance.Minister Petitpas Taylor also held one-on-one bilateral meetings with representatives from the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Germany to build on established and ongoing relationships and collaborative efforts.The meeting concluded with the release of a communique outlining priority areas for action.Quotes"I am pleased to have had this opportunity to meet with my G7 colleagues. I have been an advocate for the health and welfare of women and girls throughout my career. I believe that health ministers in the G7 have an important role to play in ensuring that our health and nutrition policies, advocacy initiatives, and programs empower women, children and adolescents. I look forward to continuing this collaborative work with Canada's G7 partners."The Honourable Ginette Petitpas TaylorMinister of Health"Public health challenges are complex and trans-national. Canada and its G7 partners understand the importance of addressing public health through international cooperation and coordination."Dr. Theresa TamChief Public Health OfficerQuick FactsaThe Group of Seven (G7) comprises seven of the world's advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.aThe G7 dates back to the mid-1970s. The G7 presidency, which rotates annually between member countries, sets the agenda for the year in consultation with G7 partners. Italy holds the presidency in 2017, and Canada will hold it in 2018.aItaly will host the first G7 Ministerial Meeting on Gender Equality on November 15-16, 2017.aReleased in September, Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance and Antimicrobial Use: A Pan-Canadian Framework for Action was developed jointly with the provinces and territories and other key partners in the human and animal health sectors to guide collective action in tackling antimicrobial resistance in Canada. Canada and its partners are now working to develop an Action Plan with concrete deliverables, measurable outcomes and timeframes.aCanadian governments, businesses, NGOs, academic researchers, professional associations, Indigenous groups and youth organizations are working together to ensure that our children and grandchildren will have cleaner air and a healthier environment and that they will live in more resilient communities with capacities to adapt to the impacts of climate change.aIn 2018, Canada will chair the G7, providing an opportunity to showcase efforts to advance gender equality, promote respect for diversity and inclusion, and fight climate change, including addressing its wide-ranging impacts on health. Caan budget stalemate grounds aviation projects The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) has not been able to pass its budget even four months into the fiscal year as Tourism Minister Jitendra Narayan Dev and Caan Director General Sanjiv Gautam have been engaged in a bitter dispute which has hamstrung its operations. Holland America Line Dominates Porthole Cruise Magazine's 2017 Readers' Choice Awards with Eight Honors SEATTLE: Holland America Line dominated Porthole Cruise Magazine's 2017 Readers' Choice Awards with eight honors. Readers from Porthole, one of the world's leading consumer cruise travel publications, recognized Holland America Line in areas that covered everything from destinations to onboard and shoreside experiences. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629764 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629764 173O212O198O32) The awards include Best Canada/New England and Northern Europe Itineraries; Best Shore Excursions; Best Spa Facilities; Most Eco-Friendly Line; Best Medical Facilities; Best Facilities for Guests with Disabilities; and Best Private Island for Half Moon Cay, the line's exclusive island in the Bahamas."As Holland America Line continues our journey of brand evolution and innovation, it is an incredible honor to be recognized by the readers of Porthole who are the most discerning and well-experienced cruisers in the world," said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. "We're working hard to make sure that we excel in all areas of the cruise experience, and these recognitions tell us we're on the right path. Thank you to Porthole and all of the readers for these eight awards."Porthole Cruise Magazine's annual Readers' Choice Awards are determined by thousands of the publication's readers who vote both online and via paper ballot on their favorite cruise lines in more than 50 categories."Every year Holland America Line impresses our readers in a variety of categories, and by the number of awards it's clear that the cruise line delivers an all-around fantastic experience," said Bill Panoff, publisher and editor-in-chief of Porthole Cruise Magazine. "Congratulations to Holland America Line for once again earning the most awards. Our readers know what they like and they know what makes an exceptional cruise, and Holland America Line continues to capture their votes."Half Moon Cay: Best Private Island in its 20th Anniversary YearFor the past 17 years, Porthole Cruise Magazine's readers have named Half Moon Cay the industry's Best Private Island. In 2017 the island is celebrating its 20th anniversary with special events, upgrades and new facilities. Half Moon Cay is an idyllic playground for cruise guests and features the finest beaches in the Caribbean, a natural 700-acre lagoon, incredible two-story villas and private cabanas, as well as a variety of fun-filled shore excursions for nature lovers, adventurous travelers and explorers.Best Shore ExcursionsHolland America Line guests can participate in incredible EXC Tours (shore excursions) that are designed to help guests deeply connect with the people and places they are visiting. To help make the most of time ashore, Holland America Line's expertly curated EXC Tours provide a wide variety of ways to explore and learn about the cultures of each port of call. Guests looking for a more tailored experience can delve deeper into The Collections tours and choose a shore excursion that has a particular focus.Top Itineraries Earn Top HonorsHolland America Line earned a win for its Canada/New England itineraries. Stretching from April through October, the line offers the longest Canada/New England season in the industry. In 2018, four ships will feature cruises from seven to 15 days, with many able to combine with a Bermuda, Cuba or back-to-back Canada/New England cruise to form a longer Collectors' Voyage. Whether on a gorgeous summer day or during the stunning fall foliage season, Holland America Line visits the region at the most beautiful times of the year.The line's northern Europe cruises garnered an additional honor for top itineraries. While visiting some of the most charming, scenic and historic ports, guests can marvel at the fjords of Norway, attend an evening ballet at St. Petersburg, Russia, or traverse the Arctic Circle to welcome the splendor of the midnight sun. In 2018, Holland America Line will have four ships sailing throughout the region from April through September.Best Spa FacilitiesHolland America Line's Greenhouse Spa and Salon is a heavenly retreat that nurtures every aspect of well-being with renowned spa rituals and healing touches. Guests can relax and rejuvenate their mind, body and soul with a massage, facial or a dip in the hydropool. With the introduction of the two-story spa on ms Koningsdam, Holland America Line took the shipboard spa experience to a whole new level of pampering. It is the first in the fleet to feature a Medi-Spa and Barber Shop. The serene Spa Staterooms and Suites on select ships are spacious havens of peace and quiet, conveniently located steps away from the spa facilities.Most Eco-Friendly Cruise LineHolland America Line understands the great responsibility in safeguarding the oceans and environment. Through the "Our Marvelous Oceans" partnership with Marine Conservation Institute that began in 2010, Holland America Line educates guests and crew about marine conservation issues, including marine protected areas. Responsible energy, water and waste management are important components of the company's sustainability strategy. Six of the 14 Holland America Line ships use shore power at the ports of Quebec, Seattle, San Diego and Vancouver.State-of-the-Art Medical Facilities and Facilities for Guests with DisabilitiesOnce again, Holland America Line received recognition for its accessibility and medical facilities. Holland America ships accommodate guests with a variety of special needs and feature state-of-the-art shipboard medical facilities and equipment. Phigenics Strengthens Technology Division with Firm's Strategic Hire for Director of Research and Innovation WARRENVILLE, Ill: Phigenics announced that Molly Scanlon, Ph.D. has joined the organization as Director of Research and Innovation. Dr. Scanlon is an environmental health scientist as well as a licensed and certified healthcare architect. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629765 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629765 173O212O198O32) Most recently, she worked for the University of Arizona on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC)'s Legionellosis Prevention and Response Online Training Grant.Dr. Scanlon is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) and the American College of Healthcare Architects (FACHA) and has over 30 years of experience in healthcare facility design and construction. Her research involves examining the built environment's impact on human health with an emphasis on preventing waterborne diseases and sustainability.As an entrepreneur who founded her own architecture consulting firm, Dr. Scanlon brings experience with clients such as Kaiser Permanente, Sharp Healthcare, Scripps Health, University of California-San Francisco, The Ohio State University, U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.In her new role at Phigenics, Dr. Scanlon will be developing key markets in the Southwest and collaborating with Dr. William McCoy, Phigenics Co-Founder, CTO and inventor of the Phigenics Validation Test PVT Protocol."Molly's skills and experience will accelerate our commercial development of a whole new generation of products and services that will improve water system management in the built environment," McCoy says. "Also, she brings to Phigenics a fresh perspective, deep knowledge, and passion for environmental public health policy. Her expertise in building standards and codes will benefit our clients' ability to navigate and comply with advancing regulations concerning building water policy."Phigenics assists facility managers in developing water management programs that optimize the total cost of water systems through improving safety and efficiency. As an independent, water management company, Phigenics does not sell chemicals but rather water management program verification and validation services for clients like the Mayo Clinic, Walmart, and the Veterans Health Administration. India to be mainstay in global energy scene by 2040, says IEA report New Delhi , Nov 15 : India is likely to lead global energy demand growth by 2040, the International Energy Agency said in its annual World Energy Outlook report 2017 on Tuesday. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629766 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629766 173O212O198O32) The Indian energy demand may rise by 1,005 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), between 2016 to 2040, accounting for 30 percent of the total growth in world energy demand. Thus, India will surpass the increase in energy demand of China (790 Mtoe), West Asia (480 Mtoe) and Africa (485 Mtoe) during the above period.However, US, Japan and Europe may reduce their energy demand by 30 Mtoe, 50 Mtoe and 200 Mtoe, respectively, by 2040.The IEA report says traditional distinctions between energy producers and consumers are being blurred, and a new group of major developing countries, led by India, is moving towards centre stage.There is a fourfold shift towards the rapid deployment and falling costs of clean energy technologies, the growing electrification of energy, to a more services-oriented economy and a cleaner energy mix in China, and the resilience of shale gas and tight oil in the United States, the Paris based agency said in its report.Rapid deployment of solar photovoltaics (PV), led by China and India, will help solar energy become the largest source of low-carbon capacity by 2040, the report said.The energy agency has also predicted that electricity demand in India would double by 2040. It would be 2,504 billion units (BU), as opposed to 1,154 BU in financial year (2016-17). Global Entrepreneurship Summit held in New Delhi New Delhi , Nov 15 : In partnership with the Government of the United States of America, NITI Aayog is hosting the eighth annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in India from November 28-30, 2017. The summit will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629767 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629767 173O212O198O32) The US delegation will be led by Ivanka Trump, Advisor to President Trump. As a lead up to the GES Summit, FICCI partnered with NITI Aayog to organise five interactive entrepreneurial events as a part of "Road to the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) Series", with the focus on celebrating and empowering women in entrepreneurship.The event, held in New Delhi on November 14, saw participation from eminent women leaders and entrepreneurs including Meenakshi Lekhi, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, New Delhi, Poonam Mahajan, National Jt. Treasurer, FLO and CEO, Signage Systems India, Aparna Saroagi, Executive Chairperson, WEE Foundation, New Delhi, Rina Dhaka, Fashion Designer, Member- FDCI, Dr. Bindu Dey, Secretary, Technology Development Board, GoI, Padmaja Ruparel, Co-Founder IAN and Founding Partner IAN Fund, Indian Angel Network, Padma Shri Shahnaz Husain, CEO, Shahnaz Herbals Inc.These events will bring together industry leaders, start-ups, serial entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, angel investors as well as enablers of the innovation ecosystem viz. government, international agencies and industry associations not only from India but across the globe.The stakeholders deliberated on several aspects related to start-ups such as finance, investment, mentoring and human capital. The event focused on the "Role of Entrepreneurship in Women Empowerment" and heard from the most inspiring women entrepreneurs who have carved a name for themselves in technology businesses/social impact space."We are taking forward the theme - Women First, Prosperity First today. Women entrepreneurs are transforming families and society across the world, besides making contributions to business development. The rising number of women entrepreneurs around the world suggests that there might be more attention to social problems, using economic solutions. FICCI wanted to get such achievers and hear their stories," said Nirankar Saxena, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI."For any nation to be a good nation, women need to be empowered, and such forums like todays should translate into action. Women in the villages inherited a lot of skills which can be further developed. Today we have the technology to fill gaps. There is a need to provide institutional support to these women," added MP Meenakshi Lekhi."That she had to overcome the conservative mindset of her family before she could venture into the world of fashion and business. There was a lot of scope for women in the fashion industry. However, the fashion world is fickle and there is a constant need for change. The way to forge trails is to constantly train yourself. That is the way to break the barrier in a male-dominated profession, when you know about your job than most men, you automatically break the gender barrier," said Rina Dhaka, eminent fashion designer.A special pitching session was also organised, where the start-ups presented their pitches to a jury, the two winners got tickets to attend the main GES in Hyderabad.Since the inception of GES in 2010, it has travelled across the world from Washington D.C. to Istanbul, Dubai, Marrakech, Nairobi, Kuala Lumpur, Silicon Valley, and now finally Hyderabad. This year is the first time GES will be hosted in South Asia, and the event will highlight India's enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship - including actions by the government to increase the ease of doing business, eliminating unnecessary regulations, and supporting start-ups.At GES 2017, over 1500 attendees, including entrepreneurs, investors, educators, government officials, and business representatives will represent the full measure of entrepreneurial talent from diverse backgrounds across our nation and the world. Through networking, mentoring and workshops, the GES empowers entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative products and services that will transform societies for better tomorrow. (ANI-NewsVoir) Obesity-association-reacts-against-BMI-discrimination London [UK], Nov 15 : A new criteria for rationing health care treatment proposes measurement of Body Mass Index (BMI) of an individual, and the Association for the Study of Obesity (ASO) is not happy with this step. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629768 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/health-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629768 173O212O198O32) The ASO considers the decision taken by The Hertfordshire Valleys and The East and North Hertfordshire Clinical Commissioning Groups to be discriminatory and believes that this approach may inadvertently increase the stigma associated with obesity.Unfortunately, body composition, as measured by BMI, is commonly utilised without consideration of an individual's circumstances. The ASO does not accept the use of BMI as a broad means of health care rationing without considering the individuals' risks and benefits from the proposed treatment.Even though, the ASO accepts that economic pressures influence the funding of treatment in the modern National Health Services, it also believes that obesity is caused by a complex interplay of factors including genetics, family, social and environmental circumstances and BMI cannot be a factor for determining health care treatment.The association has called on the Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt to intervene in order to reduce this discrimination against and stigmatisation of people with obesity and tackle the underfunding of obesity services and research.The Association for the Study of Obesity is a charity dedicated to the prevention and treatment of obesity. Afghanistan says Pakistan fired 500 missiles in its territory Kabul [Afghanistan], Nov. 15 : Afghanistan said on Wednesday that over 500 missiles landed in its Kunar province in the past four days after being fired from across the Durand Line with Pakistan. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629768 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629768 173O212O198O32) "Rockets (fired off by Pakistani forces) have landed in residential areas which have claimed one life," Afghanistan's news channel, Tolo news, quoted Kunar governor Waheedullah Kalimzai as saying."People have suffered financial losses. At least 40 families have been displaced in Shultan (district)," said Kalimzai."This is an issue between two countries. We have shared it with government leadership in Kabul. We are waiting for their order to act in this respect," Kalimzai said.The residents of the province and the civil society activists have called on government to talk with Islamabad to stop the cross-Durand Line shelling.Civil society activist Matiullah Shahab said, "We call on the central government and the international community to find a solution for this issue, which has been affecting our region for past many years."Meanwhile, Pakistani officials have said the missiles had targeted the terrorist groups in the region. India-US economic cooperation will help both countries: PM Modi New Delhi , Nov. 15 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said closer economic cooperation between India and the United States will help both the countries. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629769 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629769 173O212O198O32) Replying to U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter and White House advisor Ivanka Trump on Twitter, Prime Minister Modi said, "We look forward to welcoming you @IvankaTrump. Closer economic cooperation between India and USA helps our people, particularly our talented and innovative entrepreneurs."Ivanka will be in India to attend the three-day annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), which will start on November 28, in Hyderabad."This week, Global Entrepreneurship Week, spotlights the incredible contributions of innovators across the globe. I am excited to join many of these remarkable entrepreneurs with Prime Minister @narendramodi in India for #GES2017 in just two weeks!" Ivanka had tweeted.The GES is the pre-eminent global entrepreneurship gathering and is being co-hosted by the US and Indian governments in Hyderabad this year.The mega event will bring together 1,500 entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem supporters from around the world for two-and-a-half days of training and mentoring sessions, networking, and investment matchmaking.Ivanka will lead the the American delegation and NITI Aayog's senior advisor, C. Muralikrishna Kumar, will front the Indian side.The theme of this year's meet is 'Women First, Prosperity for All'. Carter Center launches intl poll observation mission The Carter Center has launched an international election observation mission for Nepals federal and provincial elections scheduled for November 26 and December 7. Transport Canada to amend Prohibited Items List for Air Passengers OTTAWA: From visiting friends and family, to getting goods to market, Canadians, tourists and businesses rely on Canada's safe and secure aviation system. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629769 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629769 173O212O198O32) Adjustments to screening procedures are necessary from time to time to reflect changes in the security environment and to harmonize with international standards and partner countries. Transport Canada is amending its Prohibited Items List for passengers on all domestic and international flights.Effective November 27, 2017, Transport Canada will prohibit certain powders and granular material with a volume of 350 ml (the size of a soda can) or more at all screening checkpoints in Canada. Prohibited material includes items such as bath salts, sea salt, baby powder, foot powder, cooking powder and sand. Items such as baby formula, protein powder, tea and coffee will still be permitted in any quantity.Consistent with international practice, Transport Canada will also amend the list so that very small knife blades (6 cm or lessaabout the size of a large paper clip) will not be prohibited on domestic or international flights. To respect our security screening agreement with the United States, knife blades of any length will remain prohibited on flights to the United States through preclearance facilities. Razor blades and box cutters of any size will remain prohibited at all screening checkpoints.Quote"The safety and security of Canadians, the travelling public, and the transportation system are Transport Canada's top priorities. These changes to screening procedures will bring Canada in line with international standards and our partner countries, while continuing to keep passengers safe. The Government of Canada remains vigilant in continuously assessing security risks."The Honourable Marc GarneauMinister of TransportTransport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through RSS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada.This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities. Additional Tax Support for Canadian Farmers OTTAWA: The Government of Canada is committed to supporting Canada's farmers by investing in the growth of, and innovation in, Canada's agri-food sector. Budget 2017 sets the ambitious goal of growing Canada's agri-food exports to USD 75 billion annually by 2025. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629769 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629769 173O212O198O32) The agri-food sector is an important driver of economic growth, accounting for more than six per cent of Canada's gross domestic product, and employing one out of every eight Canadians.Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister, Lawrence MacAulay, on behalf of Finance Minister, Bill Morneau, today announced tax relief to help farmers by:aProviding tax relief for farmers who receive compensation under the Health of Animals Act as a consequence of the forced destruction of their livestock because of the bovine tuberculosis outbreak in 2016 and 2017 in Alberta and Saskatchewan.aDesignating the regions for 2017 in which farmers qualify for a livestock tax deferral to help them replenish their herds after flood or drought conditions cease, allowing livestock producers in these prescribed regions to defer a portion of their 2017 sale proceeds of breeding livestock to 2018.The Government also announced it will maintain the current tax treatment of cash purchase tickets for deliveries of listed grains.Quote"Canada's agricultural sector brings jobs, high-quality food, and economic growth to Canadians. By introducing tax relief and maintaining current tax treatment, we continue to ensure farmers keep their businesses strong, which is vital to the continued growth and success of the sector, and to growing the middle class and those working hard to join it."- Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-FoodQuick FactsaThe Government of Canada provides producers experiencing extraordinary costs due to bovine TB with over $39 million in compensation under the Health of Animals Act, as well as $7.1 million in financial assistance (federal and provincial) under the AgriRecovery Framework.aThe Government of Canada helps young farmers access capital and acquire the skills they need to succeed on the farm with measures such as:athe Canadian Agricultural Loans Act Program, which is a loan guarantee program designed to increase the availability of loans to farmers and agricultural co-operatives,athe Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative, which has been supported through a $5.2 million investment and which helps fund internships for post-secondary graduates and high school students working in the agriculture industry, andathe Young Farmer Loan, the Young Entrepreneur Loan and the Transition Loan available through Farm Credit Canada.aThe Government of Canada also works closely with provincial and territorial governments to support this important sector through a comprehensive suite of Business Risk Management programs to help farmers manage the risks associated with severe market volatility and disaster situations. Hollywood celebrate Jimmy Kimmel's 50th birthday with mean tweets Los Angeles, November 15 : Television host Jimmy Kimmel celebrated his 50th birthday on November 13th and he celebrated the special day in style as an ocean of stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, David Letterman, Larry David and Will Ferrell read mean tweets directed at Kimmel himself. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629770 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/hollywood-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629770 173O212O198O32) 'Mean Tweets' is a segment in Jimmy Kimmel's show 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' in which Hollywood stars read all the mean tweets that have been written about them.In a spoof on his segment, Kimmel jokingly asked, "People tweeted mean things about me?" Television actor Ray Romano introduced explaining to Kimmel, "We're going to take you down a notch."Larry David read troll's tweet in his usual fluent manner, "This is going to sound fantastic, but I forgot Jimmy Kimmel's name so I googled 'Ugly late night talk show host' and I got him, top link.'"But Kim Kardashian got way more personal, reciting a zinger that now-husband Kanye West fired at Kimmel during their 2013 feud.She read her husband Kanye West's tweet, "JIMMY KIMMEL PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES. OH NO THAT MEANS YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TOO MUCH GOOD P****Y IN YOUR LIFE," to which she replied, "Fair point, Kanye."Back in 2013, West went on a Twitter rampage against Kimmel, after Kimmel spoofed a widely seen interview the rapper gave about his place in the fashion industry.Other big Hollywood stars who stopped by to read off mean tweets included Will Ferrell, Jennifer Lawrence, and Stephen Colbert, who roasted their friend via Twitter trolls.But it was actor Ben Affleck who gave the ultimate surprise to Kimmel on his special day.'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' director J.J. Abrams showed up with a blast from Kimmel's past - a superhero comic book the host illustrated and wrote as a child.Affleck and Abrams surprised the late night host by turning a comic book he created during his childhood, titled 'The Terrific Ten', into a full-on action flick.Ben Affleck, Will Arnett, Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Ty Burrell, Billy Crudup, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm and Shaquille O'Neal starred as the superheroes.Naturally, Kimmel's nemesis, Matt Damon, portrayed the villain Dr. Bolt along with Wanda Sykes as his sidekick, The Bleach Master."That was the best gift I ever got. Unbelievable," said Kimmel. Council of the Americas Celebrates Latin American Success Stories At The Symposium And 23rd BRAVO Business Awards MIAMI: Business and policy leaders gathered in Miami on November 3 for the Council of the Americas Symposium and 23rd BRAVO Business Awards ceremony. The one-day event held at the Four Seasons Hotel brought together CEOs of Latin American and international corporations, top public officials, and leaders of multilateral organizations. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629771 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629771 173O212O198O32) Following the Symposium, the gala ceremony honored six exceptional individuals who are committed to helping Latin America realize its full growth potential."The Symposium and BRAVO Business Awards have become one of the top gatherings for private- and public-sector exchanges in the Americas, and have expanded the Council's footprint in Miami and beyond," said Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) President and CEO Susan Segal. "These successful events perfectly encapsulate our mission of fostering cooperation and integration in one of the world's most dynamic and promising regions."The topics covered at the Symposium's morning session included Sustainable Growth, Corporate Leadership in the Digital Era, and Cross-Border Trade and Investment Facilitation.In the opening panel Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Angel Gurria emphasized the role of education to achieve sustainable growth in the Americas. "It is the combination of education with vocational training, with lifelong learning, with a regulatory framework, with the necessary investments, which will boost productivity," he said.Additional highlights included a keynote address by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno, who announced the rebranding of the private arm of the organization as IDB Invest. "If you are the kind of company that takes big risks in areas like energy, transportation, or agribusiness, then we are the partner you want at your side," he said.In the afternoon, the Symposium held concurrent sessions focused on the current strengths and future challenges for the Tourism industry in Latin America, the benefits of implementing Sustainable Initiatives in companies, and the impact of Artificial Intelligence in their business models. In the Artificial Intelligence session, IBM Latin America General Manager Ana Paula Assis explained how AI is reshaping industries across the board. "This could be a turning point in Latin America's productivity and competitiveness. Artificial intelligence opens the doors to a new era of exponential knowledge."At the gala ceremony, Council of The Americas honored the 23rd BRAVO Business Awards recipients:aAngel Gurria, OECD Secretary-General: Legacy AwardaHorst Paulmann, Founder and Chairman of Cencosud: Lifetime AchievementaFernando Gonzalez, CEO of CEMEX: CEO of the YearaEd Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, and Andres Conesa, CEO of Aeromexico: Visionary CEO LeadershipaMaria Fernanda Mejia, Senior Vice President of Kellogg Company and President of Kellogg Latin America, Dynamic CEO of the YearSponsors of the Council of the Americas Symposium and 23rd BRAVO Business Awards include HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, LLORENTE & CUENCA, The AES Corporation, CAF - Development Bank of Latin America, IBM, The Boston Consulting Group, Bombardier, Chubb, Emerson, Florida International University, Microsoft, and SAP. Media partners: CNN and Financial Times. Supporting Organizations: Enterprise Florida.The Symposium was organized in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank. NASA TV Coverage Set for Next Resupply Mission to International Space Station WASHINGTON: NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its eighth mission to the International Space Station at 7:37 a.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 11 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Live launch coverage will begin at 7 a.m. on NASA Television and the agency's website. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629771 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629771 173O212O198O32) NASA TV also will air two prelaunch briefings Friday, Nov. 10. At 11 a.m. mission managers will provide an overview and status of launch operations, and at 3 p.m. scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations and technology demonstrations to be delivered to the station.The Cygnus cargo spacecraft will launch on Orbital ATK's upgraded Antares rocket from Pad 0A of Virginia Space's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at Wallops. Following launch on Nov. 11, NASA TV coverage of the spacecraft's solar array deployment will begin at 9 a.m. and a post-launch news briefing will held at approximately 10 a.m.Under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry about 7,400 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the space station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 53 and 54.Cygnus will carry several CubeSats that will conduct a variety of missions, from technology demonstrations of laser communication and increased data downlink rates to an investigation to study spaceflight effects on bacterial antibiotic resistance. Other experiments will advance biological monitoring aboard the station and look at various elements of plant growth in microgravity that may help inform plant cultivation strategies for future long-term space missions. The spacecraft will also transport a virtual reality camera to record a National Geographic educational special on Earth as a natural life-support system.Cygnus will arrive at the station on Monday, Nov. 13. Expedition 53 Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency) and Randy Bresnik of NASA will use the space station's robotic arm to capture Cygnus at about 5:40 a.m. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and capture will begin at 4:15 a.m.After Canadarm2 captures Cygnus, ground commands will be sent to guide the station's robotic arm as it rotates and attaches the spacecraft to the bottom of the station's Unity module. Coverage of installation will begin at 7 a.m.Cygnus will remain at the space station until Dec. 4, when the spacecraft will depart the station and deploy several CubeSate before its fiery reentry into Earth's atmosphere as it disposes of several tons of trash.This Cygnus spacecraft is named in honor of the former astronaut Eugene "Gene" Cernan, the last human to step foot on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission. Cernan set records for both lunar surface extravehicular activities and longest time in lunar orbit. He died in January 2017. New Military Information Confirms Texas Shooter Not Allowed to Purchase or Own Guns WASHINGTON: New information, just reported by the Air Force, shows what many had feared: the killer in the Texas church mass shooting on Sunday was known to be dangerous, but because of gaps in our background check system, he was able to buy guns and kill people. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629772 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629772 173O212O198O32) The Air Force is now saying that the killer had been convicted of crimes that made him ineligible to buy guns. But somehow, that data was not reported to the FBI, which administers the background check system."We thank the Air Force for being forthright and launching an immediate investigation into both this killer's record and all other Air Force records. Strengthening the background check system will save lives," said Avery Gardiner, Brady Co-President."Indeed, the Air Force's investigation is a step in the right direction when so many in the Trump administration are hell-bent on taking steps backward," said Co-President Kris Brown. "What this exposes are the deadly gaps in our system. Instead of working to bolster the system, this administration and this Congress have actively undermined it, passing two bills and enacting one to remove hundreds of thousands of names from the background check system.""We call on the Trump administration to protect Americans and save lives," added Gardiner. "This is about guns. We know how to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, and it is well past the time for our leaders to take action."For more information see Brady's report on the background check system.The mission of the Brady organization and its Million Mom March is to create a safer America by cutting gun deaths in half by 2025. For more insight on gun violence prevention, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @BradyBuzz.About Us: The Brady Campaign and Center, united with the Million Mom March, is a national network of over 90 grassroots chapter affiliates mobilized to prevent gun violence at the community level. The network has played a vital role in expanding Brady background checks in the six states that have passed legislation since the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and produced the largest national protest of gun violence in U.S. history - The Million Mom March, Mother's Day 2000. Annual Candlelight Tribute honours Canada's fallen heroes and Veterans OTTAWA: Engaging Canadian youth in the act of remembrance is fundamental to ensuring that the legacy of our service members who have selflessly fought to defend peace and democracy around the world lives on for generations to come. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629772 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629772 173O212O198O32) Sherry Romanado, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, joined His Worship Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa, and Mr. Mark O'Neill, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War Museum, this evening at the Canadian War Museum for the 18th annual Candlelight Tribute to honour Canada's fallen heroes and Veterans.This is a signature Veterans' Week commemorative event that brings together people of all ages, including Veterans, youth, Canadian Armed Forces members and dignitaries. The passing of candles from Veterans to youth during the ceremony represents the "passing of the torch of remembrance" from one generation to the next. This heartfelt tradition pays tribute to the many brave Canadians in uniformapast and presentawho have sacrificed to serve their country and defend our country's values.This Veterans' Week, express your gratitude and appreciation for Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, Royal Canadian Mounted Police members and those who have given their lives in service, who come from diverse ethnic, linguistic, cultural and regional backgrounds. Join the conversation on social media by using the hashtags #CanadaRemembers and #Passchendaele100 or visit canada.ca/canada-remembers.Quotes"This ceremony is such a heartfelt tribute to Canada's fallen service members and Veterans. It is inspiring to have young Canadians take such an interest in Canada's military heritage and accept the passing of the torch of remembrance. Their promise ensures the legacy of our fallen heroes lives on and provides a solid foundation for remembrance for years to come."The Honourable Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence"It is truly moving to witness the connection between our Veterans and our youth during this solemn event and is reassuring that the legacy of our Veterans lives on. As the torch of remembrance burns brightly through the candles this evening, we remember the many sacrifices that have been made by our men and women in uniformaand their familiesaover the years for the freedom we enjoy today."Sherry Romanado, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence"As we mark Canada's sesquicentennial, it is important to also remember the men and women who have dedicated their lives to keeping our country safe. This ceremony offers us an opportunity to reflect upon, recognize and thank the military troops who have represented Canada proudly and bravely over the past 150 years. We are grateful for the freedoms and service they have provided to all Canadians."His Worship Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa"The Canadian War Museum is delighted to partner with The City of Ottawa and Veterans Affairs Canada for this moving event. Through the youth present at the event, the service and sacrifice of our veterans will be remembered and the torch will be passed for generations to come. The Museum is proud to take part in honouring the memory of the late Stuart Kettles - and of all those who have served this country in times of war and peace."Mark O'Neill, President and CEO, Canadian Museum of History and Canadian War MuseumQuick FactsaDuring the ceremony, the recipient of this year's Ottawa street-naming initiativeathe late Stuart Kettles, a local Veteranawas announced, and his family was presented with a street sign bearing his name and a poppy. Kettles had enlisted in the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve in 1941 and had received several awards for his dedication and service.a2017 is a special year of commemoration for Canada, including Canada 150, the 100th anniversaries of the Battle of Vimy Ridge and the Battle of Passchendaele, and the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid.aSince Confederation, more than 2.3 million Canadians have served in uniform to defend freedom and democracyawith more than 118,000 giving their lives.aThe Government of Canada has improved the services and benefits offered to Veterans and their caregivers and families. To all Veterans, members of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and their familiesaVeterans Affairs Canada is here for you. Learn how we can help at veterans.gc.ca/services. 'Second Amendment Enabled Armed Citizen To Intervene In Texas,' Says SAF BELLEVUE, Wash: For the third time, a legally-armed private citizen has intervened in a church shooting, once again underscoring the importance of the right to keep and bear arms, the Second Amendment Foundation said today. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629773 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629773 173O212O198O32) Sunday's tragic mass shooting might have been even worse, according to some officials, had not an armed "good Samaritan" fired at mass shooter Devin Patrick Kelley. It was that exchange of gunfire that caused the killer to flee Sutherland Springs with the armed citizen and another man in pursuit, eventually veering off the highway, where he apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound."What happened Sunday in Sutherland Springs once again demonstrates that armed, law-abiding Americans will step forward when the need arises to defend their neighbors and their communities," said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. "This is not the first time an armed citizen has engaged in a heroic act at a church."In Tennessee on Sept. 24," he recalled, "a gunman opened fire at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ, only to be confronted by Robert Engle, who physically confronted the shooter and, despite being injured, continued the fight until the gunman accidentally shot himself. Engle then retrieved his own gun from his car and held the suspect for police."Back in 2007," Gottlieb added, "a woman named Jeanne Assam shot a man who had entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs after killing two teens outside. That killer subsequently took his own life."We stand in agreement with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who told both MSNBC and Fox News early Monday that Kelley had already violated laws against murder, so another gun law would not prevent this from happening," Gottlieb concluded. "The courage of these individuals can never be over stated. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. OnMobile's Consumer Brand ONMO Sweeps Transform Awards in New York with 5 Wins Mumbai : ONMO, the sound based communication brand of OnMobile Global Limited, swept the Transform Awards North America 2017 with 5 wins including the Best Overall Visual Identity. Hosted by Transform Magazine, the awards recognize excellence in rebranding, brand development and the journey brands make. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629773 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629773 173O212O198O32) Apart from winning the Best Overall Visual Identity, ONMO got 2 Golds in Best Naming Strategy and Best Visual Identity In The Technology, Media And Telecommunications Sector. ONMO also won 2 Silvers in Best Use Of Audio Branding and Best Creative Strategy.OnMobile's consumer brand, ONMO, was awarded for bringing a revitalized identity to the telecom landscape through a fusion of energetic audio and visual elements.Speaking of the wins, Francois-Charles Sirois, Chairman & CEO - OnMobile Global Limited said, "We are very pleased with ONMO's recognition at the Transform Awards North America 2017. These awards confirm the excellent work that has been done and our ambition to continue our pursuit in pushing the boundaries in mobile sound. ONMO aims to provide a richer and more meaningful way for consumers around the globe to express themselves and connect through sound. ONMO's journey has had a good outset in the United States as of yet and we are looking forward to its imminent launch in other parts of the world."Christina Falzano, Managing Director, Brand Union, said, "Working with OnMobile to create the ONMO brand has been an incredibly rewarding experience for Brand Union. Not only do we believe in the product, but our client partners were willing to explore and push boundaries within the category. We can't wait to see what they unveil next."The Transform Awards North America were announced on November 2nd, 2017 held in an event in New York, which saw a gathering of acclaimed branding professionals from all corners of the region.About OnMobileOnMobile [NSE India: ONMOBILE], headquartered in Bangalore, India, and with offices in all regions of the world, delivers over 575 million music plays daily to mobile customers worldwide. Based on current deployments, OnMobile has an addressable base of more than 1.5 billion mobile users across several geographies. Chitkara University Hosts Culinary Art Demonstrations by Le Cordon Bleu, London Master Chef, Colin Westal Bengaluru : Where dedication and close ties to the hospitality and tourism industry are hallmarks of teaching and learning, Chitkara University invited Le Cordon Bleu, London Master Chef, Colin Westal to take a session on Culinary Arts for the students of Chitkara School of Culinary Arts. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629774 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629774 173O212O198O32) Le Cordon Bleu is a world renowned network of educational institutions dedicated to providing the highest level of culinary and hospitality education through world class programs.Sharing a brief about the Cuisine Master Chef Colin Westal: Chef Westal started his career with a 3-year apprenticeship with the Roux Brothers gaining experience in 3 of their restaurants: Le Gamin, Le Poulbot and the then 3 Michelin star Le Gavroche.Mastering the finest classical techniques early in his career he then moved to Kensington Place Restaurant under Roux Protege Rowley Leigh where he quickly progressed up the kitchen brigade. After 8 successful years at Kensington Place, Chef Colin's love for fish led him to go to Billingsgate market daily to find the best available fish. He would then bring this back to the shop and cook up daily specials and also pass on advice and tips to customers. In 2008, Rowley Leigh again recruited Chef Colin as Head Chef for his new venture; Le Cafe Anglais. Here Chef Colin set up the new 160 seat restaurant which serves award winning Anglo French cuisine. After 3 years Chef Colin moved to Soif Restaurant as Head Chef where he was again challenged to open this new establishment. Chef Colin also designs menus and cooks for small private functions which includes catering a function for Mr & Mrs Rothschild. Chef Colin joined Le Cordon Bleu's team of Teaching Chefs in 2014 in the team of Cuisine Teaching Chefs and has been imparting his exemplary cuisine techniques to the budding chefs.Chef Colin Westal addressed the budding chefs of Chitkara School of Culinary Arts along with industry professionals. In this session of "Culinary Arts Demonstrations", Chef Colin Westal demonstrated various skills and techniques of French Culinary Arts taught at the Le Cordon Bleu, London. He also shared and talked about the modern trends in cooking.Sharing thoughts on the session, Dr. Madhu Chitkara, Vice Chancellor, Chitkara University said, "Chef Colin Westal holds a lot of experience and expertise in training and educating Chefs from around the world. His session has added continental flavour to the learning experience of our budding chefs. As an institute, it is our continuous endeavor to bring classroom expertise and international business acumen that provides students with comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical hands-on experience. These kinds of sessions will surely prepare students for a rewarding career in dynamic and exciting industries of hospitality, tourism and catering.a"About Chitkara UniversityIn the year 2002, Chitkara Educational Trust established its Punjab campus 30 kilometers from Chandigarh, on the Chandigarh-Patiala National Highway. In the year 2010 Chitkara University was established by the Punjab State Legislature under "The Chitkara University Act".Chitkara University, the best university in Punjab is a government-recognized university with the right to confer degrees as per the Sections 2(f) and 22(1) of the UGC Act, 1956.Chitkara University has been founded by Dr. Ashok Chitkara and Dr. Madhu Chitkara who have been passionate teachers for more than 40 years now.Chitkara Education brings with it a reputation that has been earned through years of serving the career needs of the student community. It is a reputation for excellence and innovation among coveted employers for preparing graduates who have the knowledge and skills they need for success in their workplace.Our graduates go on to great careers, we're hands-on and responsive in our teaching. Students from around the county are attracted to Chitkara University because of our commitment to teaching excellence, because we conduct research that makes a difference, because of our industry partnerships and because of our tailored courses. This difference has been acknowledged by students, parent, alumni, government, and industry since the inception of the university.Within a decade, most of our academic programs are ranked among the top 50 programs in the country which speaks volumes about our string academic heritage, highly committed faculty, extensive industry collaborations, great international connections, and state of the art campus facilities. Communist rule will be established after polls Top brasses of left allianceCPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahalhave claimed that the communist rule will be established in the country after the elections. ImmerVision's Advanced Optical and Imaging Technology Deliver Immersive 360-Degree Images and 4K Video Capture for Motorola's Newest Moto 360 Camera Montreal, Canada : ImmerVision's panomorph lens technology, known for enabling lifelike immersive experiences through advanced 360-degree optics, imaging algorithms and low-power high-quality dewarping technology, was selected by Motorola Mobility to offer unparalleled 360A functionalities in their newest Moto 360 Camera. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629774 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-india-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629774 173O212O198O32) The advanced functionalities in Motorola's 360 Camera Moto Mod offer its users a whole new take on 360-degree selfies and live streaming sessions; from the capture of front and rear shots for a full environmental perspective to the ability of sharing the moment with immersive 360A 4K videos on their favorite social network, and much more.Integrating in its design two high-quality panomorph lenses for immersive crystal clear 360-degree images and videos, Motorola's 360 Camera Moto Mod is among the latest cutting-edge accessories available in the Moto Z family of smartphones. The dual front and rear panomorph lens design is optimized for spherical 360A views with exceptional low-light performance and optimal image quality across the entire field of view, delivering the leading-edge optics required for users to instantly stream and share their full surroundings."In the last two years, the industry took a big step forward in the adoption of 360-degree technology. With the 360 Camera Moto Mod, Motorola has set the stage for a new generation of 360A smartphones, which will revolutionize the way users communicate through immersive and authentic user generated 360-degree content," said Alessandro Gasparini, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at ImmerVision. The 360A modular system of the Moto Mod has a very appealing "snap and go" system allowing instant and easy access to 360A capture and sharing features, as well as an exceptionally immersive user-friendly experience overall."About ImmerVisionLeading innovation in 360A panoramic imaging, ImmerVision licenses its patented panomorph optical and software technology to global lens producers, product manufacturers and software developers. Panomorph lenses are the only ones that can be adapted to any camera, any sensor, and any consumer, commercial and government market. ImmerVision Enables is the recognized standard for 360A solutions and applications. For more information, visit us at www.immervisionenables.com. PubMatic Q3 2017 Quarterly Mobile Index Report Shows Header Bidding Gaining Worldwide Adoption Redwood City, Calif., United States : PubMatic, the publisher-focused sell-side platform (SSP) for an open digital media future, announced findings from its Q3 2017 Quarterly Mobile Index (QMI). (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629775 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629775 173O212O198O32) The report, which identifies trends in mobile advertising, found that header bidding continued to thrive worldwide as more publishers replace the old auction waterfall system with this solution. Mobile PMP impression volume in PubMatic's platform rose 75 percent year-over-year (YOY) in Q3 2017, making it the seventh annual improvement in as many quarters.Desktop remained strong in the overall picture as app monetization still provided the largest mobile advertising opportunity. The volume split between app and mobile web environments normalized after six quarters of market rebalancing.Mobile continued to drive header bidding growth with a 252 percent year-over-year increase in mobile web impression volume in Q3 2017. This trend is indicative of the need for wrapper solutions like PubMatic's OpenWrap that empowers publishers to utilize a holistic approach of both client and server-side across formats, including mobile web and in-app. Publishers can use header bidding to improve their mobile monetization while retaining control of their user experience and performance."Mobile, once regarded as the third screen is now quickly becoming the first screen for many consumers globally which has accelerated header bidding on mobile," said Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO at PubMatic. "Publishers should be in control of their ad decisioning and those looking to take advantage of both server-side and client-side header bidding should implement a single, holistic wrapper solution to avoid the limitations of a multi-wrapper solution."Video, which is designed for higher consumer engagement, made a strong showing as mobile opportunities remained on the upswing. Nearly one-quarter of monetized video impressions in PubMatic's platform were served on mobile devices in Q3 2017. Crucially for publishers' video strategy, mobile video eCPMs earned an 8 percent premium over the average eCPMs paid for desktop video impressions during the same quarter.More highlights from the Q3 2017 Quarterly Mobile Index include:Monetized header bidding impression volume rose by 220 percent YOY in Q3 2017.Average eCPMs in the mobile PMP channel rose by 153 percent YOY in Q3 2017.EMEA and APAC were the catalysts of mobile web header bidding growth with the regions' shares of total monetized impression volume increasing to 28 and 18 percent, respectively, in Q3 2017.Retail publishers saw mobile web impressions rise at a double-digit clip during the 2017 Back-to-School season.Visit the PubMatic website to view the full Q3 2017 Quarterly Mobile Index report.QMI METHODOLOGYPubMatic's yield and data analytics team analyzes billions of impressions on a daily basis, utilizing the company's best-in-class analytics capabilities. The Q3 2017 QMI incorporates impressions, revenue and eCPM data from these daily reports to provide a high-level analysis of key trends within the mobile advertising industry. Data is from the third quarter of 2017 (July 1, 2017 through September 30, 2017), as well as corresponding prior year periods. "Monetized impressions" or "paid impressions" are defined as impressions that were sold through the PubMatic platform, and "eCPM" is defined as the effective cost per one thousand impressions.About PubMaticPubMatic is a publisher-focused sell-side platform for an open digital media future. Featuring leading omni-channel revenue automation technology for publishers and enterprise-grade programmatic tools for media buyers, PubMatic's publisher-first approach enables advertisers to access premium inventory at scale. Processing over one trillion ad impressions per month, PubMatic has created a global infrastructure to drive publisher monetization and control over their ad inventory. Since 2006, PubMatic's focus on data and technology innovation has fueled the rise of the programmatic industry as a whole. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, PubMatic operates 13 offices and six data centers worldwide.PubMatic is a registered trademark of PubMatic, Inc. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.This press release and the QMI may contain inaccuracies, and the QMI is based on operational data that has not been audited or reviewed by a third-party. They may contain forward-looking statements about future results and other events that have not yet occurred. Actual results may differ materially from PubMatic's expressed expectations due to future risks and uncertainties. PubMatic does not intend to update the information contained in this press release or the QMI if any information or statement contained herein or therein is, or later turns out to be, inaccurate. CNN Launches the 'Go There Media Fund' to Boost Travel and Tourism Sector HONG KONG: CNN International Commercial (CNNIC) has launched the 'Go There Media Fund' to provide travel and tourism expertise to distressed destinations and countries recovering from natural disasters. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629775 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629775 173O212O198O32) The initiative was announced last night by Rani Raad, President of CNNIC, at a gala dinner ahead of World Travel Market, taking place in London this week. Attended by over 100 Ministers and Travel and Tourism CEOs, CNN's event opened World Travel Market by celebrating the achievements of guest of honour, outgoing UNWTO Secretary General Dr Taleb Rifai.Dr Rifai will join Rani Raad, international tourism and development advisor Anita Mendiratta, and other industry luminaries and experts on the advisory board of CNN's 'Go There Media Fund'. Starting in 2018, the Fund will work closely with a number of countries every year to draw on CNNIC's expertise in nation branding to provide pro-bono consultancy, strategic direction and CNN airtime and inventory for campaigns that help recover national identity and build their tourism brand on the world stage.This is the latest step in CNN's far-reaching commitment to the Travel and Tourism sector. Over the last ten years, CNN TASK (Tourism Advertising Solutions Knowledge) Group has worked directly with over 100 countries around the world to create impactful and strategic nation branding solutions and campaigns beyond traditional advertising. This has led to many award-winning campaigns from CNNIC's branded content studio, Create, and a close partnership with the UNWTO."We have seen consistently over the years that strategic travel and tourism campaigns have the power to transform a nation's stature, its prospects and people," said Rani Raad. "In honour of Dr Taleb Rifai's vision, passion and commitment to the tourism sector, CNN's 'Go There Media Fund' will focus on helping those countries at the start of the journey to rebuild and re-invent their nation brand as a tourism destination. We look forward to working with Dr Rifai and drawing on our expertise to really make a difference.""I am honoured to accept the invitation to join the board of this new initiative," said Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of UNWTO. "CNN's 'Go There Media Fund' will provide support to those nations that aspire to reach their full potential. I look forward to continuing my close work with CNN to elevate the prospects of nations and bring new destinations and experiences to travellers worldwide."Elsewhere at World Travel Market this week, CNN's Max Foster will chair the Ministers' Summit on the morning of Tuesday 7 November; Richard Quest will broadcast live at various points during Monday and Tuesday; and delegates can experience CNN, CNN Travel and Great Big Story content first-hand at a CNN activation space next to the Asia and Italy Halls. Thailand banks to deliver enhanced cross-border payments experience to their customers BANGKOK: SWIFT announces today that 3 major Thai banks, Bangkok Bank, Kasikorn Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank are part of over 120 banks around the globe that are now live or planning to implement SWIFT's Global Payments Innovation (gpi). Together, these Thai banks represent over 70pc of cross-border payments flow for Thailand. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629776 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629776 173O212O198O32) SWIFT gpi introduces a new set of business rules and further technical innovation to reduce the friction that exists in cross-border payments and to create more transparency in an effort to improve the supply chain for corporates, in what is already the largest change in cross-border payments in more than three decades. The initiative transforms bank customers' cross-border payments experience by bringing together same day payment, transparency of fees and real-time tracking. It is based on the existing SWIFT rails trusted by the industry for over 40 years.Sharon Toh, Head of ASEAN Region at SWIFT said: "SWIFT gpi is the biggest overhaul to happen to cross-border payments in the last 30 years. In an increasingly connected world, banks' customers are demanding faster, more transparent and traceable payment services to support their personal and business needs. Phase 1 of SWIFT gpi will already deliver a much improved customer experience, but it is just the first step in a multi-year program of continuous improvement. We are confident the initiative will highly benefit corporates in Thailand, especially in the context of ASEAN integration."Pongbhoka Buddhi-Baedya, VP and Manager, Global Payment Services Department, Bangkok Bank said: "Bangkok Bank strongly supports our clients to expand their business internationally, especially in the AEC countries. We are pleased to be a part of SWIFT's global payments innovation and believe this new innovation will help our clients do their business more effectively with greater treasury efficiency and features such as same-day use of funds, transparency and predictability of fees, end-to-end payment tracking and transfer of rich payment information."Silawat Santivisat, Executive Vice President, Corporate and SME Products Division Head, Kasikorn Bank said: "Banking 4.0 is the new paradigm for Kasikornbank, aiming to be customer's platform of choice supported by the SWIFT global payments innovation service. This world class standard of international payment enhances Kasikornbank to be beyond banking but a trusted organisation in digital era that can provide customers with speed, transparency, and accuracy."Pipat Assamongkol, First Executive Vice President, Global Transaction Services Department, Siam Commercial Bank said: "In today's transactional banking business, transparency on cross border payment is probably the one the market longs for quite some time. This SWIFT global payment initiative is a key enabler for the industry to bring cross border payment services to a new level in terms of tracking and fee transparency. SCB is very pleased to participate in this initiative which also aligns with our commitment to provide our clients a better experience in the cross border payment space." Global Communications Consultancy Expands to Indonesia JAKARTA, Indonesia: The Hoffman Agency (HA), an independent global consultancy, today announced the launch of its Jakarta office, the company's seventh in the Asia Pacific region. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629776 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629776 173O212O198O32) Hoffman Agensi Indonesia will apply the same creative and collaborative approach so unique to the Hoffman brand in helping companies build their public profiles in Southeast Asia's largest economy.The firm believes its storytelling methodology travels well, but with a local twist. "Just like McDonald's prepares Bubur Ayam in Indonesia, we will localize content to align with the needs of Indonesian journalists."Not a newcomer to the market, the company has undertaken client assignments over the past six years ranging from building brand awareness for cybersecurity expert Avast Indonesia and increasing the Green Building agenda in Indonesia with Build Eco Xpo to helping companies understand the intricacies of product certification with TUV SUD Indonesia.The Hoffman Agency handled previous assignments in Indonesia in collaboration with Qycomms based in Jakarta. Cici Utari, principal of Qycomms, now becomes part of the founding team of Hoffman Agensi Indonesia."There's a connection with Cici that's tough to quantify. Both agencies share plenty of common ground, not the least being a client-centric mentality. A Hoffman-branded office in Indonesia was really a natural progression of the relationship," said Caroline Hsu, managing director, Asia Pacific at The Hoffman Agency.The firm's Indonesian team fills a void in a market where mega shops that include Edelman, Burson-Marsteller, Fleishman Hillard, Ogilvy and Weber Shandwick operate alongside local agencies."We deliver the best of both worlds -- the sophistication and international standards of a big player with a high-touch mentality normally associated with boutique shops," explained CEO Lou Hoffman.He added that this is a long-term investment, similar to the company's entering China in 1999.PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that Indonesia will represent the fifth largest economy in the world by 2030, with an estimated figure of $5.424 trillion.Hsu, who previously spent seven years at Google, noted, "There's a reason Google has made Indonesia a market of focus with activities such as the Gapura Digital initiative to bring Indonesian small businesses online to updating the Waze app with a feature based on the last number of license plates to help Jakarta drivers follow the regulations of the odd-even traffic policy."The Hoffman Agency entered Asia in 1996. As the only international communications consultancy that tilts toward Asia -- more than 50 percent of its staff members are based in Asia -- the firm's regional operation includes offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo."By not emphasizing individual office P/L like other global agencies, we're better equipped to take on multi-market assignments involving Asia as well as the U.S. and Europe," said Hoffman.At the global level, The Hoffman Agency generated record global revenue in 2016 at US$11.3M and expects 2017 to be another record year with 20-plus percent growth. Korean Advanced IoT Tech Firms to Open up Japanese Market PANGYO, South Korea and CHIBA, Japan: MSIT (Ministry of Science and ICT), a government organization to support ICT industry promotion in Korea, and KISA (Korea Internet and Security Agency) will host an exhibition with ten selected IoT tech firms to open up the Japanese market. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629777 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629777 173O212O198O32) The participating firms will make their first foray into the Japanese market with their products for various IoT-applicable industries such as transportation, agriculture, distribution, authentication and business solutions. They will seek technical and business partners in Japan through the exhibition. They also expect the exhibition to offer numerous collaboration opportunities with Japanese companies and local distributors considering business by utilization of IoT technology.The delegations will host exhibition named 'Korea IoT Highlights' within '8th Japan IT week Autumn', taking place from November 8th-10th, in Makuhari Messe, Japan.*Location: IoT/M2M center A-382, Makuhari Messe Hall 4 to 7*Apply for a free ticket: http://www.cloud-japan.jp/To-Visit_Aki/Outline/MSIT and KISA, are looking forward to vigorous technology exchange through the event, implementing strategic partnership between Korea and Japan in loT to amplify the synergy in both countries. Vero Insurance Implements Ground Breaking Symbility Solutions Claims Platform TORONTO: Symbility Solutions' (TSX.V: SY) (Symbility) Australasian reseller CoreLogic, have signed a contract with Vero Insurance, part of Suncorp New Zealand, to assist them in automating their claims process, and improving the claims experience for their customers. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629777 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629777 173O212O198O32) Symbility's data-driven, cloud-based claims assessment and management workflow platform will benefit all participants in Vero's claim process - the insurer, its supplier networks and the policyholder."Major events like the Kaikoura and Canterbury earthquakes have shown how vital insurance is for safeguarding New Zealanders homes and financial wellbeing," said Jimmy Higgins, Executive General Manager for Claims at Vero."We're committed to being there in the moments that matter, to get our customers' homes repaired as quickly as possible, and Symbility will help us achieve this."Head of Insurance NZ at CoreLogic, Richard Deakin, noted that Symbility integrates completely into an insurer's existing system to create a single source of truth for a claim throughout the entire process."From first notice of loss, to the assessment process to remediation, Symbility vastly improves efficiencies and delivers a better outcome for customers who need to make a claim on their house insurance," said Mr Deakin."Often the biggest cause of frustration amongst policyholders is not knowing where the claim is at or what the outcome is likely to be, something often remembered very clearly at renewal time. Symbility turns this all on its head, instead offering full visibility of the claim to all participants."Jimmy Higgins said Vero was looking for a solution that was easy to use but that also allowed assessment and pricing accuracy, improved management of the claims process, reduced revisits and variations."We trialled Symbility and were delighted with the way it improved outcomes for our customers, so we're looking forward to seeing the very real benefits it will have for our claims handling process, and for our customers.""We're excited to have signed our first contract in New Zealand with Vero Insurance, a key player in the industry," said James Swayze, CEO of Symbility Solutions. "Symbility is focused on making the claims process easier and better for everyone involved. Vero has recognized this and by working closely with our partners at CoreLogic they will gain operational efficiencies that will benefit their team, their network, and their policyholders." Modestep Performs Thrilling Gig Suspended From Icy Peak at 6,500 feet LONDON: Modestep have performed the world's most epic gig, on a space net suspended from a freezing New Zealand peak over an icy ravine. The sixth annual Jagermeister Ice Cold Gig stars Josh Friend and Pat Lundy of Modestep, who took their performance to new, dizzying heights, in sub-zero temperatures. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629778 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629778 173O212O198O32) The daunting gig location, Cecil Peak in Queenstown, is 6,500 feet above sea level and accessible only by helicopter. Known for their unique electronic rock and dubstep sound, Modestep's Ice Cold Gig set list included new single, Higher .First developed for the extreme sport of base-jumping, the space net was handmade in Utah especially for Jagermeister and took 210 hours to create. Rigged from the cliff edge, the space net created a unique, suspended platform on which Modestep performed. To reach their unusual stage, Josh and Pat had to zip-line over a sheer drop.Following the gig, Josh Friend of Modestep said, "When Jagermeister approached us for the Ice Cold Gig, we knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We like to challenge ourselves in new ways so we were immediately hyped to get involved. We knew that our new single Higher, would be a perfect track for this daring, elevated gig."Pat Lundy of Modestep added, "Every second that we spent on the space net was completely surreal. Performing in that location, with a helicopter whirling around and these insane drops beneath us - it was definitely the most epic gig we will ever perform! We've been involved with Jagermeister for years, so collaborating on this experience has been unbelievable. We hope people enjoy our Ice Cold Gig and feel inspired to push their own boundaries."Jagermeister, the iconic German herbal spirit renowned for pushing the limits in the music world, has partnered with Modestep since 2011 through its JagerMusic programme which supports emerging and established artists. Tom Carson, Music Manager at Jagermeister UK approached the energetic London duo knowing they would be the perfect choice for the challenge.Tom Carson said, "The gig is our annual embodiment of the bold, adventurous, spirit of Jagermeister, inspired by the perfect chilled shot serve of -18AC. It's a big challenge for a band to perform in the freezing cold, never mind whilst suspended at 6,500 feet. Modestep blew us all away with an energetic and fearless performance - luckily they didn't call us out on the lack of a dressing room either!"The immense challenge of creating this ambitious gig fell to Secret Compass, a professional expedition company whose Brand Projects team travels the globe creating and capturing adventures in the World's wildest places.In the Ice Cold Gig series, there's no obstacle too big for Jagermeister to overcome. Jagermeister's 2016 Ice Cold Gig saw Matt Tuck from Bullet For My Valentine accomplish an audacious world first: an adrenalin-filled continuous gig on land, sea and air. In 2015, TesseracT performed on top of an immense gigantic igloo, thought to be the world's biggest in Lapland, Finland and in 2014, Jagermeister hosted the world's first gig on an iceberg with UK metal band The Defiled. The Ice Cold Gig series has so far made it into the Guinness Book of World Records twice, and been nominated for three awards. Global Experts Call for Action on Vaccination Apathy, and More Protection for Older Adults Against Infectious Diseases BERLIN: At the recent 2017 World Health Summit - one of the world's most prestigious strategic forums on global health - a group of prominent global experts participated in a panel discussion on vaccination apathy, assessing the extent of influence it has on vaccination uptake, its causes, the role of healthcare providers, and how behavioural economics can help understand and address it. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629778 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629778 173O212O198O32) The expert panel called on policymakers and the healthcare community to take action to address vaccination apathy - an increasing challenge which threatens to jeopardize community protection against infectious disease. With a focus on adult vaccination, the panel discussed the issue in the context of the globally ageing population and the need to protect older adults against diseases, such as pneumococcal disease and influenza.Vaccination apathy, or hesitancy, as it is also referred to, is defined as the delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccination services.[4] It varies across time, place and vaccine, and incorporates factors such as complacency, convenience and confidence. Vaccination apathy is not only limited to the general public but has also been identified in healthcare providers.[5]Session Chair, and leading authority on vaccination confidence, Dr Heidi Larson, Director of The Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK said, "Whilst the majority of the research on vaccination apathy has focused on its prevalence among the general public, studies also show that groups of healthcare professionals, varying across geography and vaccine, may themselves be 'vaccine hesitant'. This is important in light of the high degree of trust patients place in their doctors' opinions and advice. It is important to realise that just as the general public may be influenced by rumours and concerns around vaccines, so may some healthcare providers."Dr Larson was joined by experts across the fields of immunology and infectious disease, health policy and management, and ageing.Value of vaccinationProfessor Horst von Bernuth, Head of Pediatric Immunology and Infectious Diseases at Charite - Universitatsmedizin, Berlin, Germany said, "Vaccination is one of the most successful and cost-effective health interventions ever. It has saved countless lives and improved health and well-being around the globe. Despite this, for a multitude of reasons, vaccination apathy is a widespread global issue and a key barrier to protecting the community against infectious disease."The need for a life-course approach to vaccinationDr Jane Barratt, Secretary General of the International Federation on Ageing, Canada highlighted the importance of a life-course approach to immunisation in the context of the ageing population said, "By 2060, 30% of Europeans will be aged 65 years or over. We know that as we age, our immune systems becomes less effective, which places older people at an increased risk of infections. This results in an increased burden of disease, higher rates of hospitalisation, and increasing pressure on health services. A life-course approach to immunisation, which includes adult vaccination is a cost-effective method for achieving better health outcomes across the life course, and managing the societal impact of ageing." Dr Barratt further discussed a recent study[6] that estimated burden of community acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the United States to be substantial, with more than 1.5 million adults hospitalized annually of whom 100,000 die. "Overall, approximately one in three patients hospitalized with CAP die within a year of admission," said Dr Barratt.Applying behavioural economics to understanding and addressing vaccination apathyDr. Douglas Hough, Associate Scientist and Director at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, USA, explored how the application of behavioural economics can assist in both understanding and addressing emotional and cognitive biases affecting vaccination decision-making.He discussed cognitive biases such as omission bias - the tendency, under conditions of uncertainty, to take no action, in preference to taking an action that might be regretted later[7], placing them in the context of vaccination decision-making. A concept related to this is the nocebo effect - the tendency to experience exaggerated side effects after having read or seen material that creates negative expectations[8].He said, "It is evident that vaccination decision-making is not purely based on rational choice. Public health interventions and patient-doctor interactions around vaccination need to take this into account. Behavioural economics lends itself to the further understanding of vaccination apathy among both the general public and healthcare professionals, and helping to inform vaccination programmes which address it."The panel discussion concluded with a lively debate around the issues raised and covered the following points:aHealthcare professionals remain the most trusted advisors and influencers of vaccination decisionsaHealthcare professionals need more support and education to manage the quickly evolving vaccine environment and an increasingly questioning publicaVaccinated healthcare professionals are more likely to recommend vaccination to othersaA life-course approach to vaccination should form part of a comprehensive public health strategyAs a final rallying cry, the panellists, led by Dr Heidi Larson called for global action:"With the pace of global ageing gathering momentum, the need to protect older adults against infectious diseases is coming increasingly to the fore. Vaccination apathy is a global issue and a key barrier to protecting the community against infectious disease. Healthcare professionals, policy makers and public health bodies should consider how they can address vaccination apathy through traditional, and novel approaches and strategies." Merck's Consumer Health Leads Debate on Preparing Gen Z for 100 Healthy Years DARMSTADT, Germany: The Consumer Health business of Merck, a leading science and technology company, released today a new whitepaper entitled 100 Healthy Years - Are Kids Prepared? aimed at shining light on preparing the young generation for a new era of 100 healthy years. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629779 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629779 173O212O198O32) The publication follows the 2017 edition of Merck's Consumer Health "Global Consumer Health Debate", which gathered experts from the UN, UNICEF, UNAIDS, the World Obesity Federation, McKinsey and others to discuss how best to prepare kids for living 100 healthy years. The new whitepaper published today highlights the importance of adopting good health habits early on to ensure any additional years of life expectancy are lived healthy.Uta Kemmerich-Keil, CEO and President of Merck's Consumer Health business, explains: "As the number of people aged 60 or above is expected to grow 56% between 2015 and 2030 - from 901 million to 1.4 billion - this whitepaper highlights the importance to focus on today children's health to address society's changing demographic and ensure today's kids approach older age in good health." While life expectancy is increasing worldwide, the 2015 Global Burden of Disease Study reports that non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease account for seven out of ten deaths worldwide[1]. In addition, the World Obesity Federation reports that over 223 million school children globally are overweight or obese and that this number is expected to reach 268 million by 2025[2].This means those additional years of life expectancy could be lived in a disease state, showing the importance of healthy life expectancy as a KPI, i.e. the number of years an individual is expected to live in good health and free of long-term disability. While biological factors play a significant role in determining healthy life expectancy, non-biological factors, such as behavioral, economic, social, environmental, and cultural conditions, can be influenced and are equally important in determining lifelong health.To participate in global efforts to address this situation, Merck's Consumer Health new whitepaper advocates for renewed collaboration between the main stakeholders, including educators, parents, policy makers, healthcare practitioners, and NGOs, to develop health education programs for school-aged children taking into account the prospective of living 100 healthy years. With support from research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit in five countries, Merck's Consumer Health whitepaper provides a holistic view of the state of play of children's health today. It also takes a deep dive into healthy life expectancy, exploring health education programs in various countries, and providing a roadmap for achieving optimal outcomes for children's health over the long-term.The white paper also features a case study of the GEN100[TM] program recently rolled out by Merck's Consumer Health in South Africa, and which aims at raising awareness on the importance of health programs and education in South Africa school's curriculum. Given the country's current health challenges, such as malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, and infectious diseases, it is vital to inform the younger generation to adopt healthy habits early on. The GEN100[TM] program convenes public and private partners, including Merck's Consumer Health and the South African Ministry of Basic Education, to teach children how to live longer and healthier lives. GEN100[TM] is currently operating in more than 40 schools and touches upon nutrition, obesity, diabetes, and physical exercise topics. Key element of this program is quantitative measurement to be able to evaluate the mid- and long-term effects and impact of such educational awareness program.The white paper released today is a part of Merck Consumer Health's WE100 movement, which aims to help prepare society for a new era of humans living 100 healthy years. WE100 is a brand neutral initiative supporting all generations and cultural backgrounds globally. Directly elected executive head does not suit Nepal Deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar has said a directly elected executive head is not suitable for the country. Sena unveils highly anticipated Momentum Smart Helmet series and 30K Mesh Intercom Communication System at Eicma 2017 MILAN, Italy: Sena Technologies, Inc. the leading innovator in the motorcycle and outdoor activities communication market, will showcase their new range of communication units, helmets and accessories at Eicma Milan in Hall 13 Booth #S86. (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629779 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 15 November 2017, 1668629779 173O212O198O32) Sena will be showing the Momentum smart helmet series (Including the long awaited INC Helmet) and 30K Mesh Intercom communication system, which have both been revamped since last seen at Eicma in 2015.30K Mesh Intercom Communication SystemMesh intercom technology is the next generation of motorcycle communication. With one click of a button, seamlessly connect to a virtually unlimited number of riders within a mile range using the 30K's public mode feature. When a rider from the group falls out of range, the rest of the group remains seamlessly connected thanks to the self healing aspect of Sena's mesh technology. In private mode a rider can create a group with up to 16 riders and an endless amount of guests can listen in. The 30K is still Bluetooth 4.1 compatible and able to connect to up to 3 other Sena and non-Sena Bluetooth devices. In addition to the technological advance of mesh technology the 30K includes the same feature set as previous Sena devices allowing riders to take phone calls, listen to music, hear turn-by-turn GPS direction, and much more. The 30K will be available in early Q4 2017 and retails for 329a single / a579 dual pack.Momentum Smart Helmet SeriesThe Momentum smart helmet series is coming and will be on display at AIMExpo. The series consists of 5 Bluetooth integrated smart helmets varying in feature sets, including the long awaited Momentum INC helmet. Sena has engineered each helmet from the ground up and for the first time riders will be able to hear our industry-leading technology the way it was meant to be heard, the ideal integration of Sena's technology creates an unrivaled audio experience. All models are DOT approved and aerodynamically designed from composite fiberglass shell with multi-density EPS for added protection in the case of impact. See our full press kit here for more information on each model in the Momentum Smart helmet series. The helmets will retail for 419a - 719a ($399-$699).Eicma will be open to the public Thursday November 9th from 9:30AM-6PM, Friday November 10th from 9:30 - 10PM, Saturday and Sunday, November 11th and 12th from 9:30AM-6:30PM. Sena will be located at Booth #S86. For more information and tickets to the show please visit Eicma's website. Omnichannel Cloud Contact Center Provider, Bright Pattern, Expands Presence in Japan TOKYO: Bright Pattern, award-winning provider of global contact center software, is pleased to announce opening a local office in Tokyo, Japan. Bright Pattern launched a local cloud point of presence in Japan early in 2017 and now has established an office. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629780 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629780 173O212O198O32) "Japan has always been a strong market for the Bright Pattern product and our expansion and local office will provide close-knit and personalized support to our Japanese partners and direct customers," said Konstantin Kishinsky, CEO of Bright Pattern. "In a world where much of the business can be done online with minimal human interaction, we are trying to bring a personal touch to our Japanese market with our local sales and technical support team. At Bright Pattern our customers are family and we believe they should be treated as such."Bright Pattern's highly available and scalable solution is built for global enterprise-grade clients. "Global companies demand a high level of excellence for software reliability, security, compliance and manageability," said Bright Pattern Product Manager, Sergey Menshikov. "Bright Pattern addresses all of the key requirements for successfully operating global, enterprise-grade customer support teams.""I am very excited to be joining the Bright Pattern team," said Kenji Hatomi, Director of Business Development in Japan for Bright Pattern. "I have been working in the contact center industry for over 20 years and Bright Pattern is truly bringing an innovative product to the market with their 5.0 release." New Harley-Davidson Sport Glide Motorcycle Melds Street-Carving Agility With Long-Haul Capability MILWAUKEE: Whoever said you can't have the best of both worlds has yet to ride the new Harley-Davidson Sport Glide motorcycle. Introduced today in Milan at the EICMA motorcycle show, the new factory-custom cruiser is a versatile quick-change artist, ready to transition in just minutes from aggressive cruising to weekend touring duty. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629780 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/automobile-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629780 173O212O198O32) Outfitted with a detachable fairing and saddlebags, the Sport Glide is the ninth model based on the all-new Harley-Davidson Softail platform and the latest in a line of 100 high-impact motorcycles the company plans to introduce by 2027."The Sport Glide offers the thrilling dynamic capability of the new Softail platform with features that make it suited for both commuting and light touring," said Dave Latz, senior product planning manager at Harley-Davidson. "Its factory-custom design speaks to modern performance and contemporary style."The Sport Glide's new fairing is shaped to deflect wind away from the rider's chest while leaving the rider's head in a clean stream of air. The fairing is secured to the fork tubes with quick-release clamps, making removal or installation fast and easy. The new lockable, rigid saddle bags feature a sleek clam-shell design and can be removed in seconds, leaving behind mounting points that are barely visible. New Mantis cast-aluminum wheels feature sweeping spokes and are the first directional wheels on a non-CVO model.Designed to be lightweight and stiff, the new Softail chassis delivers agility and performance that will exceed the expectations of the most-demanding cruiser riders, while the rigid-mounted Milwaukee-Eight 107 V-Twin powertrain pumps out a mountain of torque for outstanding acceleration and passing power. A broad and supportive saddle sets the Sport Glide's seat height at just 25.7 inches, with forward-mounted foot controls contributing to a rider triangle designed to fit a broad range of riders. The brilliant Daymaker LED headlamp is surrounded by a ring of LED signature lighting. Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), electronic cruise control, a USB charging port, keyless ignition and the Harley-Davidson Smart Security System are all standard features of the Sport Glide. BuildTech Asia 2017 sets new attendance record as it expands internationally SINGAPORE: The 7th edition of BuildTech Asia concluded on 26 October with a record number of visitors and international participation since its inception. A key anchor event of the Singapore Construction Productivity Week, BuildTech Asia 2017 welcomed some 11,000 professionals, technology experts and distributors from the built environment sector. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629781 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629781 173O212O198O32) Organised by Sphere Exhibits and hosted by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), BuildTech Asia 2017 featured a variety of cutting edge technologies and solutions in Asia. Over 130 exhibitors showcased virtual reality, drones, smart solutions and other productive technologies in addition to staple exhibits such as construction machinery, equipment, building materials, architectural solutions, and quality finishes at the building technology trade show from 24 to 26 October 2017.At the opening ceremony of the Singapore Construction Productivity Week, Mr Desmond Lee, Minister for Social and Family Development and Second Minister for National Development, launched a Construction Industry Transformation Map (ITM) for Singapore's built environment sector. Recognising key global trends which impact the sector such as digital revolution, rapid urbanisation and climate change, the ITM identified Integrated Digital Delivery (IDD), Design for Manufacturing and Assembly (DfMA), as well as green building as key transformation areas to address the challenges faced by the sector.Mr Hugh Lim, CEO of BCA, said that the transformation process will lead to greater investment in capability building and more collaboration amongst firms to capture new business opportunities. It will also attract more Singaporeans to join the sector as a more technologically advanced workforce is needed.Echoing the trend in industry transformation, Mr Chua Wee Phong, Chairman of Sphere Exhibits Pte Ltd, said: "BuildTech Asia is proud to present a strong showcase of cutting-edge and advanced technologies for the built environment sector. We are heartened to see exponential growth in international attendance which is a strong indicator of the importance of regional industry collaboration, and co-operation between the government, trade industry and community. Such integration across construction markets in the region and beyond signals a strong interest in continued cross-sharing of knowledge and setting of common initiatives that will propel the industry forward."Bolstering and furthering regional knowledge exchangeThe inaugural SMART Women in Built Environment Conference held alongside BuildTech Asia 2017 was attended by more than 100 industry professionals. Organised by the Prestressed and Precast Concrete Society, Structural Engineering World Congress and Sphere Exhibits Pte Ltd, the conference provided a unique perspective on the current progression and empowerment of women professionals in the built environment sector in the region.Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth, and Trade and Industry, was the Guest-of-Honour. She said that cities around the world including Singapore face pressures of resource scarcity, climate change and population growth. More than ever, we need innovative and sustainable solutions for urban living. As an integral part of the workforce, women have an important role to play in this transformation effort, as leaders, experts and professionals.Er. Emily Tan, the Organising Chairman of the conference, said: "Regardless of the different practices in each country, both men and women have to be Skilled, Motivated, Articulate, Resourceful and Transformed for the industry to transform and become more productive. We hope that this conference has seeded motivation for more young women to press on, thrive and excel in an ever-changing built environment sector that is no longer gender-specific."Leading female professionals and Government representatives from Australia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore shared the challenges that women face moving up the career ladder in the sector, how they can use their skills to excel in their fields, and ways to retain and empower women in the industry. The conference also served as a forum for all professionals to share their experiences.Ms. Vivien Ng from VB+E who attended the conference said: "The concept of developing women professionals to step up into the industry into leadership roles provided a different perspective whilst ringing a bell to those already in the force. It is good to have such a platform to inspire and encourage younger professionals to enter the industry confidently."A new Built Environment Summit organised by the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL) was also held in conjunction with BuildTech Asia 2017. International and local industry experts and leaders discussed what it takes for the built environment sector to remain relevant, seizing opportunities in a growing regional construction market and maintaining business competitiveness.Bridging industry collaborations between the East and WestSingapore has established itself as Asia's infrastructure hub, with BuildTech Asia facilitating knowledge sharing in the region. Some 30 trade delegates visited The Wave at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore, the first large-scale building in Southeast Asia built using Mass Engineered Timber. Delegates also visited Nanyang Crescent Residential Halls, one of the first few high-rise projects in Singapore to adopt Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC).In addition to the wide range of associated trade activities, over 30 local and overseas trade mission groups visited BuildTech Asia and fostered business alliances through networking events. The trade show also seeded new partnerships in the region with European markets that were interested to explore more integrated business opportunities.This year, BuildTech Asia has successfully garnered increased interest from developers as well as architects and interior designers who now see more relevance and increased importance of their involvement on the trade floor.Ar. Joan De Leon Tabinas, Chairperson of Architects Working Abroad (ASEAN) and President, Singapore Chapter of the United Architects of the Philippines, said: "We are happy to foster a partnership with BuildTech Asia as we explore more synergistic opportunities amongst our ASEAN counterparts. BuildTech Asia has established itself as a strong regional go-to marketplace for those involved in the built environment sector. Now that AEC is in force, integrated sharing of topics such as infrastructure development between countries will lead to mutual benefits to economies in ASEAN as well as the rest of the world. This will serve as a wide window of opportunity for the advancement of industry and profession towards global practice."A showcase of the latest building solutions and innovationsAs the region's leading building technology trade show, BuildTech Asia 2017 brought together an inspiring showcase of the latest building solutions and innovations from countries such as Austria, China, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.A bigger Singapore Public Sector Built Environment Leadership Pavilion showcased 10 public agencies in Singapore that have applied smart solutions and productive technologies in their projects. Visitors also witnessed a live demonstration of constructing building services with prefabricated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) modules at the new Productivity Technology (ProTech) Demonstration.Innovations by 10 finalists of the second SCAL Productivity and Innovation Awards (PIA) were also showcased for public voting at BuildTech Asia 2017. The PIA is an industry initiative to raise productivity in the construction sector through a ground-up approach for innovative ideas.The three winning innovations announced at the SCAL Built Environment Summit were:aGold: Koh Brothers Building and Civil Engineering Contractor (Pte) Ltd's Moveable Lifting Frame Wall FormworkaSilver: CS Construction & Geotechnic Pte Ltd's Reinforced Concrete Pile Handler MachineaBronze: Straits Construction Singapore Pte Ltd's Easy Safe Adjustable Riser PlatformMr Kenneth Loo, President of Singapore Contractors Association Limited (SCAL), said: "SCAL will continue to champion the adoption of game-changing technology, innovative processes and capability building to improve construction productivity as contractors prepare for the future economy. The Productivity and Innovation Awards is an example of such an effort in our continued efforts to expand the foundation of the development of innovative yet practical solutions. BuildTech Asia has proven to be the ideal platform to showcase and broadcast these ideas and prototypes within the industry, in line with government collaborations in this sector. We are happy to continue to co-locate such efforts alongside BuildTech Asia and more importantly, encourage firms in the sector to develop a productive work culture as we strive to realise and deliver the Construction ITM towards a common vision in driving productivity and innovation."BuildTech Asia will return to the Singapore Expo in October 2018. Organisations which are keen to exhibit at BuildTech Asia 2018 are welcome to reserve their spaces early. Signpost Partners with AI-driven, Advertising Platform, Acquisio, To Offer Search Engine Marketing on Google Adwords NEW YORK: Signpost, the leading AI-driven CRM provider for service-based brands, today announced its partnership with machine learning ad platform, Acquisio, a Web.com company, aligning their visions to make full lifecycle marketing affordable and simple. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629781 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629781 173O212O198O32) The partnership will empower Signpost's clients to effortlessly expand their customer acquisition efforts with best-in-class search engine marketing on Google Adwords.Local, mobile searches result in a store visit within a day 76% of the time, making it an especially powerful tool for busy local businesses. Through Acquisio's Promote, Signpost offers the Google Partner's proprietary algorithm that maximizes budgets through smart customer targeting. The campaigns are focused on reaching people that are searching Google and who are most likely to become customers. The Promote platform automates AdWords creation and self-improves ads around the clock, removing most of the work involved."We're thrilled to partner with Signpost." said Acquisio CEO Marc Poirier, "Together, we are employing best-in-class technologies to intelligently acquire customers through Acquisio and increase the lifetime customer value through Signpost's smart CRM."Signpost's VP of Product, David Wachtendonk, said of the partnership, "Advertising on the Google Adwords platform has become increasingly essential for local businesses vying for visibility. By joining forces with Acquisio, Signpost is excited to extend its AI capabilities throughout the customer lifecycle to further empower customer acquisition efforts engineered for success." Top Food and Beverage Trends Shaping Your Meals in 2018 BOULDER, Colo: A research leader on trends in the food industry, Sterling-Rice Group (SRG) has identified its annual top culinary trends that will stand out on menus, expand onto grocery shelves, and attract consumer interest across the U.S. in the year ahead. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629782 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629782 173O212O198O32) SRG's 2018 Cutting-Edge Culinary Trends were compiled by SRG's Culinary Team, led by Culinary Director Liz Moskow. The report is the culmination of a year-long examination of the global foodscape, based on international scouting trips, in-depth primary research, and input from SRG's Culinary Council, a team of more than 175 chefs, restaurateurs, and food experts from around the world."Some culinary trends may rise and fall within the same calendar year, yet many of the most relevant trends follow longer arcs, manifesting in connected, yet new, innovations along the way," says Liz Moskow, SRG Culinary Director. "This year, we wanted to highlight the 'trendjectories' taken by the trends that allow them to maintain relevance and stay front and center in the minds of consumers."Look for these culinary trends to expand and grow next year as they move from cutting edge to mainstream:1.Coffee + Spice is Everything Nice: Say goodbye to cafe lattes and hello to the flavor and functional benefits that herbs and spices add; think chai-style coffee or coffee layered with flavors of cinnamon, orange zest and clove.2.U-mami Makes Breakfast: Diners are beginning to embrace jianbing, a traditional Chinese street-food breakfast crepe brushed with umami-rich hoisin and chili sauce; layered with egg, pickled veggies, and herbs, and sometimes customized with sausage or bacon.3.Moringa is the Thinga! Consumers just can't get enough of the green, which is why we predict that moringa-a superfood derived from the dried leaves of the "tree of life"-will be the "thinga" in 2018 and beyond. With more protein, fiber, calcium and vitamins than matcha, watch for moringa to become the next matcha or golden milk.4.Slow Dough: The frenzy for fermentation continues as artisan bakers and makers of pinsa--an ancient Roman style of pizza that uses a flour blend with longer fermentation periods to make the bread easier to digest--will spur a revolution in the way crusts are crafted.5.Trendy Tea and The Chickpea: Burmese cuisine, a blend of Chinese, Laotian, Indian, and Thai flavors, has the staying power to appeal to a variety of different palates, and we predict it will be pushing front and center in 2018.6.The Objectification of Food: Instagram has made food evermore about styling than substance. Next year the Culinary Institute of America will start offering classes on how to take "Insta-ready" photos of food. Full-on art installations and "foodzeums" are being created specifically to engage visually with food through the lens of a phone. Heading into 2018, we will continue to see visual food experiences created with the explicit purpose of getting the perfect photo opp. Osram and Continental planning joint venture for intelligent lighting solutions in the automotive sector MUNICH: Technology companies Osram and Continental today announced their intention to establish a joint venture. The idea is to combine innovative lighting technology with electronics and software to develop, manufacture and market intelligent lighting solutions for the automotive industry. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629782 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629782 173O212O198O32) The global joint venture will operate under the name Osram Continental GmbH and have its registered office in the Munich region. Osram and Continental will each have a 50 percent stake in the joint venture. The aim is to generate annual sales in the mid-triple-digit-million-euro range with a workforce of around 1,500 employees and 17 locations worldwide. Dirk Linzmeier (CEO) from Osram and Harald Renner (CFO) from Continental have been named as designated managing directors. The joint venture is scheduled to start in 2018 subject to final agreement on the binding contracts and antitrust approvals.Osram will be transferring its automotive Solid State Lighting (SSL) module business over to the joint venture. Continental will be incorporating its light control business from the Body & Security business unit. This will lead Osram Continental to combine semiconductor-based lighting modules, advanced electronics, optics and software expertise with access to sensor technology and innovative light sources. Osram Continental will therefore be able to offer a broad range of end-to-end, innovative lighting solutions, designed especially for headlight and tail light applications. The intention is to work together to design perfectly coordinated and innovative products and solutions, and bring them to market more quickly. The joint venture will operate on the market as a standalone company."The joint venture is a sign that Osram is focusing its efforts consistently on digitalization. Continental's expertise in software and electronics is the perfect complement to our technology leadership in automotive lighting. It will create a forward-looking company for digital automotive lighting," said Stefan Kampmann, CTO of the Osram Licht AG."The pace of innovation in the automotive industry lighting segment is rapid, and software is strengthening this dynamic," explained Helmut Matschi, member of the Continental Executive Board. "While conventional lighting expertise remains important to our customers, the addition of electronics to enable new light functions is taking on increased significance. The joint venture will systematically combine these two areas and raise them to a new level."The automotive industry lighting market is in the grip of technological change. Similar to the situation with general lighting, this market is moving toward semiconductor-based lighting solutions. Thanks to increasingly intelligent light functions in vehicles as well as new light-based design and application options, semiconductor-based technology, software and electronics are gaining progressively in importance. Each year, growth in the market for semiconductor-based front lighting solutions is somewhere in the double-digit range. Market studies indicate that by as early as 2025 more than half of new cars worldwide could be fitted with semiconductor-based lighting solutions."Intelligent lighting solutions allow vehicle manufacturers a greater degree of flexibility when it comes to design, and help them to optimize development costs," commented Andreas Wolf, head of ContinentalAs Body & Security business unit. "The global presence of the Osram Continental joint venture is allowing us to cooperate closely with our customers in order to develop solutions exactly tailored to their needs. In the case of Continental and Osram, we have two technology companies combining their complementary expertise in the context of a joint venture to offer customers a unique range of solutions," added Wolf."Digitalization is bringing about new potential applications in automotive lighting and hence tremendous opportunities that we want to take advantage of with Continental. Thanks to our combined offering of lighting and electronics solutions, we will be able to offer automotive sector customers cutting-edge products from a single source," explained Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO of Osram's Specialty Lighting business unit."By joining forces, we will be in an even better position to drive forward innovations by working closely with the automotive industry to integrate lighting, sensor technology and electronics seamlessly in a single application. This will allow us to drive forward new intelligent light functions, such as the combination of lighting and sensor technology in a module or light-based communication between the driver, other road users and the vehicle surroundings," added Schwabe. WOW air To Begin Flights Out Of JFK With USD 99 Tickets NEW YORK: WOW air, Iceland's ultra-affordable transatlantic airline, will begin service to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) this spring, with the inaugural flight from the United States' busiest international airport scheduled for April 26, 2018. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629783 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629783 173O212O198O32) East Coasters will be able to travel from JFK to Reykjavik and WOW air's additional 22 cities abroad, daily throughout the summer. Additionally, the airline is extending service out of Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) with 13 flights per week starting May 2018.$99 one-way tickets from JFK will go on sale today for passengers looking to travel to Paris, Amsterdam, London Stansted, Frankfurt, Dublin, Copenhagen and Berlin.To celebrate the new route, special prices will also be available out of the following US cities to select locations:aFrom Newark (EWR), Cleveland (CLE) and Cincinnati (CVG) to Paris (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), London (STN), Frankfurt (FRA), Dublin (DUB), Copenhagen (CPH) and Berlin (SXF) via Iceland.aMiami (MIA) to Paris (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), Dublin (DUB) and Copenhagen (CPH) via Iceland.aBoston (BOS) and Pittsburgh (PIT) to Paris (CDG), Amsterdam (AMS), London (STN), Brussels (BRU), Dublin (DUB), Copenhagen (CPH) and Edinburgh (EDI) and Stockholm (ARN) via Iceland."New York is an amazing city filled with culture, one-of-a-kind art, diverse cuisines and travelers from all over the world," said Skuli Mogensen, founder and CEO of WOW air. "We are excited to offer more East Coast passengers access to high-value and low fares through our new partnership with John F. Kennedy International Airport. WOW air's young fleet continues to service U.S. consumers at a reasonable price to make travel available to even more people."Launched in November 2011, WOW air now connects 38 destinations across North America, Europe and the Middle East with the Icelandic capital. In 2016, WOW air flew with 1,668,773 passengers in total, which is an increase of 130% from 2015. New Study Shows 60pc Of The Engineer's Buying Process Happens Online AUSTIN, Texas: New engineering sector research shows investment in digital content is critical in engaging technical audiences. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629783 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629783 173O212O198O32) The 2017 Smart Marketing for Engineers Research Report, a new study released by engineering-focused marketing agency, TREW Marketing, in partnership with engineering and technical content provider, IEEE GlobalSpec, found that 90% of engineers surveyed are more likely to do business with companies that produce new content, and that most engineers desire multiple interactions with a company online before they're ready to talk to sales. Learn more.These findings come from a survey of over 800 engineering and technical professionals who make or influence buying decisions. The resulting report details more conclusions, including:1. Your Online Presence MattersFor the majority of engineers, a company's website has considerable impact on brand perception and 60% of the buying process happens online. In addition, emails are important, as nearly 50 percent of engineers of all regions and ages subscribe to four or more e-newsletters.2. Your Personas Inform How and When to EngageDefining target personas, including basic information like demographics, can be particularly effective in content marketing. Fifty percent of younger engineers expect to be contacted within 24 hours after completing a form on a vendor's website, while older engineers have lower expectations. These same younger engineers also look for detailed how-to videos as relevant content sources more than their older colleagues.3. Your Marketing-to-Sales Handoff Timing is KeyThe study showed that engineers prefer to search online and read available content before talking to sales, and that most engineers have three or four online interactions with a vendor before ever communicating with them directly. Marketing teams passing all leads to sales need to think again, as a sales call could turn off a new prospect. Academy Award-Winning Actress Natalie Portman Selected as the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate JERUSALEM: the Genesis Prize Foundation (GPF) announced that world-renowned actress, director and social activist Natalie Portman has been selected as the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629784 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/middle-east-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629784 173O212O198O32) The annual $1 million award honors extraordinary individuals who serve as an inspiration to the next generation of Jews through their outstanding professional achievement, commitment to Jewish values and to the Jewish people.Portman is a globally-acclaimed actress and director. She began her acting career at the age of 12 and has since achieved recognition and praise from audiences around the world. She is a winner of multiple prestigious awards, including an Academy Award (Oscar), two Golden Globe Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Award, as well as other industry honors.Portman was born in Israel and, after moving to the US as a child, retained a close connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots. In 2015, she directed Tale of Love and Darkness, a Hebrew-language film made in Israel and based on the novel by an Israeli writer Amos Oz. Portman also played a leading role in this picture.Natalie Portman is noted for her social activism in such areas as gender equality, combatting poverty, microfinance, and animal rights. She is a graduate of Harvard University, where she returned to deliver a commencement speech in May 2015."We are delighted to celebrate Natalie Portman as the 2018 Genesis Prize Laureate," said Stan Polovets, co-founder and Chairman of the Genesis Prize Foundation. "Natalie's charismatic on-screen presence has touched the hearts of millions. Her talent, her commitment to social causes and her deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots are greatly admired. She exemplifies the core traits of the Jewish character and values of the Jewish people - persistence and hard work, pursuit of excellence, intellectual curiosity, and a heartfelt desire to contribute to making the world a better place. Without a doubt, she is a role model for millions of young Jews around the world."In keeping with the tradition established by the previous Genesis Prize Laureates, $1 million in award money will be granted to philanthropic programs in honor of Natalie Portman. The programs will focus on advancing women's equality in all aspects of human endeavor. In particular, funds will be used for grants to organizations involved in promoting women's educational opportunities, economic advancement, health and safety, and full participation in policy formulation and political activity. A significant portion of the funds will be channeled to programs advancing women's equality in Israel.Chairman of the Genesis Prize Selection Committee, Natan Sharansky said: "It gives me great pleasure to welcome Natalie Portman to the distinguished family of Genesis Prize Laureates - outstanding Jews of our time. An example of excellence and dedication to Jewish values, she is an exemplary Genesis Prize Laureate. I express my strong support for her chosen philanthropic cause and wish the new Laureate further success in advancing the mission of the Genesis Prize that is so relevant to all of us today."Natalie Portman said: "I am deeply touched and humbled by this honor. I am proud of my Israeli roots and Jewish heritage; they are crucial parts of who I am. It is such a privilege to be counted among the outstanding Laureates whom I admire so much. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Genesis Prize Foundation, and look forward to using the global platform it provides to make a difference in the lives of women in Israel and beyond."Natalie Portman becomes the fifth winner of the annual $1 million Genesis Prize. Previous Laureates of the Award, dubbed "the Jewish Nobel" by Time Magazine, are former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (2014), actor and peace activist Michael Douglas (2015), virtuoso violinist and advocate for people with disabilities Itzhak Perlman (2016) and prominent sculptor and activist for the rights of refugees Sir Anish Kapoor (2017).Natalie Portman will be honored at the Genesis Prize Ceremony in Jerusalem in June 2018. EC concerned about secret financial dealings: CEC Yadav Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Ayodhee Prasad Yadav has said that the Election Commission (EC) is concerned to make sure that secret financial dealings will be minimised to the possible extent during the elections. Apart from the EC, it requires the support of government bodies, civil society and media to curb on such shady dealings aimed at influencing the elections, Yadav added. TWT Group Welcomes Adrian Nagle as New Director of Business Development CALGARY: TWT Group, Calgary's managed IT specialists for small- to medium-sized businesses, is proud to announce and welcome Adrian Nagle as TWT's new Director of Business Development, effective yesterday. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629784 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629784 173O212O198O32) Nagle joins TWT after spending more than three years bringing businesses together as the Business Development Executive for the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, a non-partisan organization which works to help local businesses understand trends, overcome challenges and succeed. Known for his work in the business community, Nagle worked to engage, support and educate local businesses on how to thrive in more challenging economic times."We are very excited to welcome Adrian, and believe he will be instrumental in helping us connect local businesses with IT solutions that will help them succeed," says Shawn Freeman, Founder and CEO of TWT. "Adrian is a seasoned business development professional who is community focused, and whose values of building strong relationships and working with integrity directly align with our own. We are devoted to supporting our community, and with Adrian's help, we are looking forward to continuing to do so."As proud members of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce for more than three years, TWT experienced Nagle's dedication to helping Calgary businesses succeed first-hand."I look forward to joining the TWT team, and continuing to support and grow Calgary businesses by helping them maximize the potential of their IT," says Adrian Nagle.Nagle holds an undergraduate honours degree in business studies from the University of Limerick in Ireland. He also volunteers on the board with the Ireland-Canada Centre of Commerce, where he helps to strengthen relationships and build opportunities between Canadian and Irish businesses. Canopy Growth and Farm to Farma Form Distribution Partnership for Trokie Lozenges SMITHS FALLS, ON: Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (Canopy Growth or the Company) today announced that it has signed a definitive licensing agreement with Farm to Farma Inc. (FTF) for FTF's innovative Trokie lozenges. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629784 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629784 173O212O198O32) Under this licensing agreement, Canopy Growth will have the exclusive right to manufacture and distribute FTF's Trokie lozenges through its subsidiaries in Canada, as permitted by federal regulations, and shall have a first right of offer for all other countries where federally lawful, and excluding the United States.Developed by a Doctor of Pharmacy, Trokie lozenges have been developed to deliver a consistent and repeatable dose of cannabis to its users. Trokie features the most used polymer-based drug delivery system which allows for a zero-calorie product that avoids most common food allergies. There is no gluten, nuts, artificial flavours or colours, and the product meets vegan standards, utilizing many organic/natural ingredients."We are very pleased to have entered into this license agreement for the Trokie lozenges, a cannabis product that we believe has broad medical and legal adult access market opportunities," said Mark Zekulin, President, Canopy Growth Corporation. "We are confident value-added consumer products will drive higher margins and we will continue to look for thought leaders like Farm to Farma to expand our product offerings."Current ACMPR regulations allow for oil-based and dried cannabis products only, but Canopy Growth continues its licensing, and research and development programs to position itself for rapid diversification if and when the regulations allow for more varied formats in medical and adult access markets."Signing this agreement with Canopy Growth is an exciting development for our company," said Shane Johnson, President, Farm to Farma Inc. "Combining Canopy's vision for the future of cannabis in consumer products and the deliberate investments they are making in capacity, with our unique line of products, has positioned us to increase our global footprint with the largest and most-respected cannabis company in the world."The Farm to Farma's Trokie lozenge was designed specifically with the patient in mind. It is covered by an issued patent by FTF in the U.S., and is patent-pending in other jurisdictions including Canada. "By utilizing the oral mucosa for delivery, these lozenges have been developed to minimize first pass metabolism of cannabinoids by the liver, deliver a rapid onset of action, and optimize the bioavailability of every dose," said Dr. Kenton Crowley, the inventor of the Trokielozenge. Additional products such as transdermal patches and capsules are being added to the suite of products available under the Trokie brand. Bloomlife awarded two grants totaling USD 2.3M to advance diagnostics for fetal well-being and preterm labor detection SAN FRANCISCO: Women's health company, Bloomlife, announced they were awarded two grants to further develop their groundbreaking prenatal wearable for remote fetal monitoring and preterm labor detection. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629785 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629785 173O212O198O32) The projects received a total of $2.3M in funding from the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union under the SME instrument, and Belgian based Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship funding agency.Both grants will enable the commercialization of novel medical products for prenatal care and, in turn: improved birth outcomes, lower healthcare costs, and job creation within Belgium and Europe at large."We are honored to have the support of both Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the European Commission Horizon 2020 program," commented Bloomlife Co-founder and CEO Eric Dy, "Given the highly competitive review process, this is a major endorsement by key opinion leaders in Europe for both our technology and vision to bring prenatal care into the 21st century."The Horizon 2020 project is focused on the development and clinical validation of Bloomlife's labor detection algorithms. Bloomlife will run a multi-site clinical study over the next two years to longitudinally collect data on expectant moms throughout their 3rd trimester. The goal is detecting labor onset remotely, a diagnosis that today requires a visit to the doctor for a clinical examination."The biological triggers of labor onset are still unknown, and identification of the early stages of labor are often difficult to interpret. For low-risk risk moms at term (>37 weeks gestation) this uncertainty leads to unnecessary, inconvenient trips to the hospital. However, for moms at high risk to deliver preterm (<37 weeks) this uncertainty can cause a significant increase in morbidity and even mortality for her baby," says Dr. Frederic Chantraine, MD Ph.D., and Principal Investigator at CHR Citadelle in Liege (Belgium). "Getting proper medical care to detect preterm labor and delay delivery is critical especially for moms less than 32 weeks. This project will develop and validate a novel tool for remote labor detection to ensure each mom gets the care she needs when she needs it."The Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship grant is focused on expanding the development of Bloomlife's wearable to monitor fetal health for early signs of distress non-invasively and remotely."Fetal movement and fetal heart rate are the two indicators of fetal health today. Unfortunately, fetal heart rate is limited to hospital settings, and there is no tool to objectively and accurately monitor fetal movement. We are excited to be part of the research to quantify fetal movements and fetal heart rate in ambulatory settings. The clinical relevance, for instance, is in pregnancies with growth retarded fetuses (+/- 5%) where we do not have any decent day-by-day monitoring today, is unquestionable," commented Dr. Wilfried Gyselaers, MD, and Principal Investigator at Ziekenhuis Oost Limburg in Genk (Belgium). Security Council recognizes contributions of police components to UN peacekeeping NEW YORK: The Security Council on Monday adopted a resolution stressing the important contribution that United Nations policing can provide in peacekeeping and special political missions throughout the conflict cycle. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629785 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629785 173O212O198O32) In the unanimously approved text, the 15-member body, while stressing the primacy of political solutions to conflict, resolved to include, on a case by case basis, policing as an integral part of the mandates and decision-making structures of UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions.In doing so, the Council took into account the need for consistent integration of police expertise within the planning of such missions, and to give dear, credible, achievable, appropriately resourced mandates for policing-related activities.While recognizing the role of UN policing in UN efforts to prevent conflicts, the Council called on the Secretary-General to make sure that planning of UN peacekeeping and special political missions with police mandates are based on a thorough analysis of the context, capacities and needs of host-States.Further, the Council recognized the important role that UN police components can play in the protection of civilians, including in preventing and addressing sexual and gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence and violations and abuses against children in the conflict and post-conflict situations.The Secretary-General is requested to submit a report by the end of 2018, including on the implications for the delivery of policing mandates of changes to the Secretariat's peace and security architecture, as well as efforts to strengthen and improve UN policing coherence, capability, accountability and police generation.Briefings on UN policingBriefing the Council, UnderaSecretaryaGeneral for Peacekeeping Operations JeanaPierre Lacroix said the United Nations police played a continued vital role in bridging the Organization's work from prevention and peacekeeping to peacebuilding and development.UN police now operate on a solid foundation based on the Strategic Guidance Framework, use comprehensive approaches to operations, capacityabuilding and development and focused on basic skills transfer and strengthening hostaState police institutions. "As more is demanded from police officers, there is also a need to ensure their welfare, safety and security in the field," he said and such, they need to be supplied with upatoadate equipment to increase their situational awareness.Issoufou Yacouba, Head of the Police Component of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), said the situation on the ground is characterized by a resurgence of attacks against Malian security forces, Mission forces, Operation Barkhane, humanitarian workers and civilians in the north and centre of the country."MINUSMA has developed a comprehensive policing plan charged with strengthening the Malian structures that fights both criminality and terrorism," he continued. Some 24,000 security personnel had been trained, with 1,385 trained specifically for fighting organized crime and terrorism. A gender strategy was a large part of all training. In addition, Mission officers continued to support the work of the special judicial police, he added.GeorgesaPierre Monchotte, Police Commissioner of the UN Mission for Justice Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), said the first challenge of the transition is managing troop drawdowns and tailoring the initiative to the new landscape, including promoting gender equality. A harmonious transition had been made in cooperation with Haiti's national police, using a new approach to transferring skills, with the aim of generating cultural exchanges.An advice and support programme had centred on mentoring senior officials in the areas of command and administration. More broadly, he encouraged policeacontributing countries to deliver the necessary resources and to include more female officers.Also briefing the Council, Priscilla Makotose, the Police Commissioner of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), said including more women is indeed important. Noting that 20 per cent of UNAMID officers are female, she said few women are serving in the Sudanese police in Darfur, emphasizing that progress is essential in order to address conflictarelated sexual violence and sexual- and genderabased violence. "Women also need additional training, mentoring, more role models and the appointment by Member States of more qualified females to senior positions."Turning to UNAMID priorities, she highlighted civilian protection and the creation of a protective environment through community policing initiatives and capacityabuilding for Sudan's police force. Mission police also support the institutional development of Sudan's police force. Goslings Rum Partners with OUTFRONT Media to Promote Historic Handcrafted Rum NEW YORK: OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT), announced today a new partnership with Goslings Rum for the company's new out-of-home advertising campaign, which will highlight Goslings handcrafted, award-winning rum. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629786 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629786 173O212O198O32) The billboard, reading "HAND CRAFTED ENJOYMENT IN A BOTTLE," highlights the fact that every drop of Goslings Rum has been created and blended by hand in Bermuda by their Master Blender, Ken Simons. The billboard features a bottle of the award-winning Black Seal Rum and the trademarked Dark 'n Stormy cocktail with a can of Goslings own stormy ginger beer."We are excited to partner with Goslings Rum on this out-of-home campaign," said Jodi Senese, OUTFRONT Media's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "As New York's #1 media platform, we connect everyone from established companies to media startups to the millions of daily consumers that walk the streets of Manhattan daily."The campaign is visible throughout New York City around high foot traffic areas in lower Manhattan. It has been running since October and will be concluding in December. The billboards going live in November will be located on 27th St. & 7th Ave, and Watts St. & Thompson St.In the digital age of automated production and robotic factories, Goslings Rum proudly publicizes that it is behind the times, which is part of its old-fashioned appeal. Its historic methods for hand crafting rum are working well. Goslings flagship, Goslings Black Seal, captured Beverage Tasting Institute's coveted Platinum Medal, the highest honor bestowed in the spirits industry (rated "96 Points, Superlative"), and the "Stormy" Ginger Beer is the number one selling ginger beer in America."It's basically how we've been doing it since the early 1800's. The recipe is secret and little has changed. Well, except for the equipment we use to ensure quality control," said Malcolm Gosling, 7th generation President & CEO of Gosling's International Limited. "My five-time great grandfather, James Gosling, arrived in Bermuda from England in 1806 to start a small spirits business. As it grew, he refused to cut corners to accelerate production. Likewise did his descendants. That's why our slogan today is, 'For seven stubborn generations.' Because what it all comes down to is we're really selling quality enjoyment in a bottle. We just believe the way to get there is slowly, by hand.""While Goslings Rum has remained the same stellar product since its inception, the way we market the brand to target audiences has changed over time," said Glenn Kelley, President/CEO of Kelley & Company & Etc. "Our partnership with OUTFRONT Media is the next natural progression for us with a big, attention-grabbing out-of-home campaign, and one that will help us make a splash in the busiest market of all: New York City." Canadian Gender and Good Governance Alliance established to advance gender diversity on boards and executive positions TORONTO: Seven of Canada's most active and influential organizations dedicated to advancing good governance and gender equality in the workplace have come together to form the Canadian Gender and Good Governance Alliance (CGGGA). (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629787 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629787 173O212O198O32) The new group aims to amplify and coordinate efforts to accelerate gender parity on boards and in executive positions, and contribute to public policy as an advisor for government and regulators. It is the first of its kind in North America.Members of the CGGGA include the 30% Club Canada, the Business Council of Canada, Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), Catalyst Canada, the Clarkson Centre (CCBE), the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) and Women in Capital Markets."We must continue driving real change in Canada's boardrooms, executive offices and workplaces in order to achieve gender balance. The only path forward is inclusion - where we leverage differences and work towards building a stronger, more dynamic corporate Canada. We need progressive and collaborative efforts like the Alliance to motivate collective action, advance progress for Canada's talented women and strengthen our economic future," says Victor Dodig, Chair of the 30% Club Canada and the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board."The Alliance is unifying industry-leading research, education and advocacy perspectives to drive critical change," says Ekta Mendhi, Co-Chair, Women in Leadership, Women in Capital Markets and Co-Chair of the CGGGA. "We are committed to partnering with businesses, investors, governments and regulators to address the persistent challenges.""Each of these organizations brings a wealth of expertise, passion and commitment to advancing gender equality, " says Professor Beatrix Dart, Executive Director, Initiative for Women in Business, Rotman School of Management, and Co-Chair of the CGGGA. "Bold action is required to advance women at executive levels and together, we are prepared to be bold."The first joint initiative of the Alliance is the creation of the Directors' Playbook, which presents a curation of practical tools that companies can use to achieve gender balance on boards through deliberate action.The playbook contains perspectives, guidance and templates for:aFormalizing board evaluations processes;aInstituting term and age limits;aCustomizing and using board competency matrices;aDeveloping and complying with a gender diversity policy; andaStrategies for board member recruitmentThe Canadian Gender and Good Governance Alliance invites businesses, regulators, institutional investors and other interested stakeholders who require assistance in advancing gender diversity to use the Alliance as a resource. 3D Systems Announces Availability of Figure 4, the Industry's First Modular, Scalable, Fully-Integrated Additive Manufacturing Platform DENVER: 3D Systems (NYSE: DDD) today announced the availability of its new Figure 4 platform, the industry's first modular, scalable, fully-integrated direct 3D production platform. Available in standalone and production configurations, the Figure 4 platform combines services, technology, materials and software designed to revolutionize manufacturers' production environments -- helping customers bridge the chasm and move from rapid prototyping to full production. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629787 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629787 173O212O198O32) The Figure 4 platform incorporates high speed digital molding, a process that speeds and simplifies the production of plastic parts -- enabling manufacturers to match the accuracy, reliability, repeatability and uptime of traditional injection molding.Figure 4's ultra-fast print technology combined with production-grade materials enables up to 15x throughput improvements versus competitive offerings, at up to 20 percent lower cost of current manufacturing processes.While 3D Systems' Figure 4 platform represents an innovative approach to manufacturing, the technology behind Figure 4 has roots in the early days of the company. In 1983, 3D Systems' co-founder and current Chief Technology Officer Chuck Hull filed a patent for the first stereolithography (SLA) printer, which included many of the processes and ideas found in the new Figure 4 systems.A Modular Platform That Grows with Manufacturing NeedsFigure 4 is a flexible production system with models designed to meet the needs of various production environments, from standalone units to factory solutions for Aerospace, Automotive, Healthcare, Dental, Durable Goods and Service Bureaus. The Figure 4 hardware lineup includes four models:aFigure 4 Production is completely customizable and provides customers with the ability to scale the technology as their business and manufacturing needs grow. Completely automated, the same or similar functional production parts can be built in high volume via an in-line production configuration, with integrated post-processing. Automated material delivery and integrated post-processing reduce labor requirements -- increasing productivity and lowering total cost of operation.aFigure 4 Modular provides customers with an upgradable and affordable direct 3D production solution which includes automated materials-handling and centralized post-processing. As with all Figure 4 units, it is designed to grow with a customer's business as they move from prototyping to production. With operation from a master control box, each modular unit is capable of producing multiple unique parts simultaneously - saving customers time, money and resources, while speeding time to market.aFigure 4 Standalone is an affordable, industrial-grade single engine solution for low volume production and rapid functional prototyping. Ideal for small design shops and OEMs, it provides industry-leading economical print volume at the lowest cost compared to other printers in its class.aFigure 4 Dental is a single-engine, independent 3D printer with centralized post-processing designed for dental production, prototyping and sacrificial casting. 3D Systems' portfolio of biocompatible materials makes Figure 4 Dental the only printer on the market to address more than 10 indications.Figure 4 solutions are designed to break down barriers found with traditional manufacturing processes, giving customers streamlined and efficient access to superior quality parts with minimal effort. In order to help customers increase productivity and efficiency, all Figure 4 configurations come integrated with 3D Systems' 3D Sprint and 3D Connect software.3D Sprint helps customers address all aspects of print preparation from CAD model repair to automatic placement and support of the part on the print platform - while being able to submit and monitor jobs in the print queue.Maximum uptime is critical in a manufacturing environment and requires ongoing status reports and preventative maintenance. 3D Systems' newest solution, 3D Connect, a cloud-based software solution, delivers proactive and predictive serviceability for production environments. 3D Connect is comprised of two solutions: 3D Connect Service and 3D Connect Manage. 3D Connect Service provides a secure, cloud-based connection to 3D Systems' service team for proactive and preventative maintenance of the printer. Proactive scheduled maintenance and service alerts with remote diagnostics allow 3D Systems' service personnel to either solve problems remotely or mobilize a technician on-site, equipped with the necessary parts for repair. 3D Connect Manage allows customers to securely and remotely monitor the status of one printer or a fleet of printers, as well as view comprehensive and historical data to more effectively understand the utilization of their printer fleet. Customers can view and analyze a number of metrics such as materials usage and utilization rates, as well as receive real-time text and email alerts based on conditions they specify (e.g., job complete).Significantly Expanding the Materials Portfolio3D Systems is launching 15 new materials to be used in industrial and dental applications with its Figure 4 solutions. The company is the first to offer all the materials needed for production parts, including rapid prototyping, elastic, clear, tough (functional) and high temperature consumables.While many competitive materials require lengthy photo- and heat-curing processes, 3D Systems' new functional plastics only require curing in bright light, making the entire process ultra-fast; delivering up to 15x faster throughput. Each product in the Figure 4 portfolio is capable of printing biocompatible materials, as well as those with elastomeric properties. All materials feature the same durability as traditionally manufactured parts, however the level of accuracy and surface finish is unmatched.Groundbreaking Technology at an Incredible PriceIn addition to offering versatile capabilities to disrupt the traditional manufacturing landscape, each printer model in the Figure 4 lineup is affordably priced, making the platform attractive and accessible to any sized business."Figure 4 is a game-changing production solution for additive manufacturing that will help CEOs bridge the chasm and move from prototyping to production," said Vyomesh Joshi, president and chief executive officer, 3D Systems. "Leveraging this platform approach helps us protect the investment of our customers and smooth the transition as they scale their operations."The Figure 4 solutions will range in price from approximately $25,000 to over $1 million. General availability for the various Figure 4 configurations is planned to be staged across 2018:aFigure 4 Production and Figure 4 Dental are planned for Q2 2018.aFigure 4 Modular and Figure 4 Standalone are planned for Q3 2018.For more information, please visit the 3D Systems website.Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements made in this release that are not statements of historical or current facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from historical results or from any future results or projections expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In many cases, forward looking statements can be identified by terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "may," "will," "estimates," "intends," "anticipates" or "plans" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based upon management's beliefs, assumptions and current expectations and may include comments as to the company's beliefs and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside the control of the company. The factors described under the headings "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" in the company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as other factors, could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected or predicted in forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not, and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of future performance or results, nor will they necessarily prove to be accurate indications of the times at which such performance or results will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included are made only as the date of the statement. 3D Systems undertakes no obligation to update or review any forward-looking statements made by management or on its behalf, whether as a result of future developments, subsequent events or circumstances or otherwise. Pinstripes Hires Rob Hense As Chief Development Officer CHICAGO: Pinstripes, Inc. announced that Rob Hense, an accomplished real estate/development executive, has been named its Chief Development Officer. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629788 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629788 173O212O198O32) He will be responsible for the strategic planning and execution of the Company's real estate site selection, design/construction and overall expansion plans, both domestically and internationally, and will be part of the Pinstripes senior leadership team and report to Dale Schwartz, Pinstripes Founder/CEO.Hense has over 25 years of global development experience with industry-leading brands, most recently as Senior Vice President, Development of Starwood Retail Partners. Prior to joining Starwood, he was Senior Director of Real Estate and Development of Apple, Inc., and in this role was in charge of developing Apple's retail presence and strategy in North America, South America, Australia and Japan; prior to Apple, was Vice President of Real Estate and International Development at Crate and Barrel; and prior to Crate and Barrel, was Vice President of Development at Bally Total Fitness."Since our formation in 2007, we have established a loyal customer base and have expanded our concept throughout the U.S. We are excited to have Rob's extensive real estate knowledge compliment our current expansion plans as we continue to scale and open iconic sites throughout the U.S. and internationally", said Schwartz. "Rob's experience with both entrepreneurial and industry-leading brands will be invaluable."Hense added, "The Pinstripes experiential brand is 'the right concept at the right time', and it affords me the opportunity to combine my prior experiences and apply them to the expansion of this great concept. Having witnessed the Company's growth since its inception ten years ago, I'm excited to join the team and scale the business as it capitalizes on the retail and societal trends in markets throughout the world." Courtyard Chattanooga at Hamilton Place Ushers in Local Holiday Events and Celebrations CHATTANOOGA, Tenn: With the most wonderful time of the year almost here, Courtyard Chattanooga at Hamilton Place will be bringing in the holiday season with special packages for families and shoppers. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629788 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629788 173O212O198O32) Only steps away from the hotel, Hamilton Place is the ideal spot for those looking to do some Christmas shopping during their vacation or business trip in Chattanooga.Starting at 6 a.m. on November 24, 2017, the Hamilton Place Black Friday Bash is kicking off the shopping season by offering goodie bags stuffed with coupons and mystery gift cards to the first 250 people entering the mall.Once inside, shoppers can take a "selfie with their bestie" and register for a chance to win a $250 shopping spree for themselves, as well as another $250 for their best friend. For those who don't win the shopping spree - fear not. Hamilton Place will be giving away hourly prizes from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., with prizes ranging from Bose speakers from Xfinity to gift cards from the brand-new H&M.Courtyard Chattanooga at Hamilton Place will be adding to the savings this year by offering its new Shopping Package. Guests who shop at Hamilton Place can receive 25 percent off their accommodations and 15 percent off food and beverages from The Bistro (with proof of purchase from the mall) now through Dec. 31, 2017. Following a day full of checking items off their loved ones' wish lists, visitors can discover some of the other exciting holiday activities nearby.Departing from Chattanooga Grand Junction, just 5 miles from the hotel, the North Pole Limited Train Ride is a magical experience full of traditional holiday refreshments, storytelling and occasional sing-a-longs. As if a ride on the vintage Tennessee Valley Railroad wasn't exciting enough, children will receive a special keepsake from a very special guest who boards the train upon its arrival at the "North Pole." Those who take advantage of the hotel's TVRM North Pole Train Ride Package now through Dec. 30, 2017, will receive accommodations for two, two train tickets and breakfast for two at The Bistro.When the train comes to a stop and the mall's stores close-up for the night, visitors can head back to their room and retreat to relaxation. Whether sharing selfies with Santa using the free Wi-Fi, watching a holiday classic on the flat-panel TV, or taking a long winter's nap on the plush bedding, guests will find everything they need to feel at home.To take advantage of the Shopping Package or TVRM North Pole Train Ride Package, book online using promotional codes SHO and ARN, or call 1-800-228-9290. Fire destroys property worth one million rupees in Saptari A fire that broke out at Chhinnamasta rural municipality-1 of Saptari district on Wednesday destroyed property worth approximately one million rupees. AfDB salutes Nigeria's laudable efforts on economic recovery and diversification ABIDJAN, Cote d'Ivoire: Nigeria's House of Representatives has constituted a Tactical Committee on Economic Recession to guide innovative legislative actions by the House and the National Assembly to return the economy to a path of growth and stability. In this regard, the committee is holding a summit in the nation's capital, Abuja, on 6 and 7 November 2017 (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629789 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629789 173O212O198O32) The Summit will bring strategic stakeholders together to interact on relevant issues of concern and develop a legal framework for economic recovery and sustainable development in Nigeria. It is expected that deliberations at the Summit will enhance the quality of legislative reforms for economic development.The African Development Bank's (AfDB) Nigeria Senior Director, Ebrima Faal, representing AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina at the summit noted that Nigeria's sound growth prospects are increasingly underpinned by generally improved macroeconomic policies, low external debt, political stability, and good governance. Fewer conflicts and more democratic institutions, have also provided better clarity for investors as evidenced by the recent improvements in Nigeria's ranking in the ease of doing business index.Faal said that despite reports to the contrary, the AfDB is in consultation with the Government about how best to support the country's laudable Economic and Growth Recovery Plan. He added: "I would like to stress that the African Development Bank Group is highly encouraged by the economic recovery of Nigeria from recession, and the Bank salutes the Government's efforts toward diversification of the economy. The Bank also strongly supports the Economic and Growth Recovery Plan (ERGP) of the Government; including efforts to stem corruption and strengthen fiscal consolidation and efficiency. ''We shall continue to strengthen our engagement and ties with the Federal Republic of Nigeria.The country is the largest and most important shareholder of the African Development Bank Group, and as such our commitment to Nigeria is resolute."In a passionate presentation titled 'The Nigerian Recession - We must never Walk this Way Again,' Nigeria's Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo said that recession was not an option for Nigeria. ''Never again should we experience the horrors of being in a state of recession. Reliance on dwindling oil revenue and unbridled, unprecedented corruption and waste were the major causes of the 2017 recession," he said, noting that the country could have fared better going into a recession if it had had savings instead of debt. "We did not have the fiscal buffers to enable a counter approach,'' he said, citing the intractable delay in the budget approval process and the long procurement processes that followed as the two other major forces that deepened the recession. "No developing economy can afford the luxury of long legislative rambling over the budget. Budgetary delay in a situation of national economic emergency and the hardship encountered by so many is simply unacceptable," he said.The Vice President said the Economic Recovery and Growth Programme remains Nigeria's blueprint for development actions going forward. He reminded the group that "the obligation that history and providence has forced upon us today is to honestly do all we can to ensure that the future of our people is secure and prosperous. We must not walk this path of recession again.'' The Loan Companies Acquires America's Oldest Pawnshop: Luxury Collateral Lender Now in Chicago CHICAGO: The Loan Companies has successfully completed its historic purchase of T.N. Donnelly and Company, a storied Chicago lender with the notable distinction of having been in continuous operation since 1881, making it America's oldest operating pawnshop. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629789 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629789 173O212O198O32) Rebranded as Chicago Loan Company, it is the newest addition to The Loan Companies, joining New York Loan Company in New York City's Diamond District and "Pawnshop to the Stars," Beverly Loan Company, which has provided collateral loans to clients in Beverly Hills since 1938.Continuing this legacy, Chicago Loan Company provides pawn loans against diamonds, gold and platinum jewelry, high-end watches, modern and contemporary art, and unique memorabilia.Chicago Loan Company writes nonrecourse loans from its secure upper story office in downtown's Jewelers Row. Jordan Tabach-Bank, CEO and owner of Chicago Loan Company, explains, "Qualifying for a traditional bank loan is a challenging and onerous process for anyone in today's economy. Our loan officers have the expertise to lend up to seven figures in a matter of minutes, without ever performing a credit check. Your collateral speaks for itself."Even the most financially secure individuals can find themselves strapped for cash with expenses such as private school tuition, insurance premiums and probate taxes. These unforeseen expenses can leave Chicagoans in need of immediate funds. For 136 years, Chicago Loan Company's predecessor solved these short-term liquidity issues by providing concierge collateral lending services to Midwesterners from all walks of life.Rolex, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Harry Winston are only some of the iconic brands that borrowers leverage to secure a loan. "Our family business has always specialized in luxuryabe it a Tiffany & Co. diamond engagement ring, a crocodile Hermes Birkin bag or a Patek Philippe minute repeater. Unlike many other pawnshops, we also have expertise in auction-worthy art and can offer loans against your Picasso, Warhol or Basquiat, a lending product that did not previously exist in the Midwest.""We certainly cater to clients who require an immediate cash infusion for personal matters, such as healthcare expenses or a divorce," said Tabach-Bank, "but a large percentage of Chicago Loan Company's clientele are small business owners and professionals who have short-term liquidity needs for investment opportunities, capital calls or escrow closings. Luckily, these clients are asset rich and can leverage their tangible personal property instead of liquidating their stocks or selling their home."Chicago Loan Company is located on the twelfth floor of the historic Heyworth Building at 29 East Madison Street in downtown Chicago. Goats, a Bike and Elephants Benefit Independent Bookstores SALT LAKE CITY: Amazon is king and there is a Barnes and Noble in every city. It's a struggle for many independent bookstores to stay in business. They survive thanks to loyal customers and IndieBound.org. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629790 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629790 173O212O198O32) Michael Chidsey and Christian Madsen, author and illustrator of the new children's books "Thaddeus The Happiest Little Mountain Goat Ever" and "Today You Learn To Ride Your Bike," are fans of the independently owned The King's English Bookshop and chose to release their books there. Through The King's English they learned they could reach a national audience with IndieBound.org.What is IndieBound?IndieBound.org works directly with independent bookshops and the American Booksellers Association to give them a way to sell online so they can survive against large franchises. IndieBound enables the power of "local first" shopping. It allows consumers to feel their actions are part of a larger picture. ABC Fun Phonics: Putting Books and The Arts Back in the Classroom NEW YORK and PALM DESERT, Calif: Authors and retired teachers Lorraine Drogin in New York, New York and Barbara Panawa in Palm Desert, California, who also happen to be sisters, have been asking this question along with parents around the country: What is happening to the Arts in our schools, and how do we make our children's education more beneficial? (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629790 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629790 173O212O198O32) The answer to this question has baffled many, but Drogin and Panawa have come up with the perfect median to ensure children never forget their ABCs and how to use them in a phonics book with a music link. What makes this beginner reading phonics "ABC Fun Phonics" book unique is that it is a delightful "music" fun phonics book in a children's storybook format. This puts books back into the child's hands while also integrating music, poetry and imagery. It can be used by both teachers and parents to enhance beginning reading in a fun way through the Arts and creativity. The music used along with the phonics/poems incorporates memory training skills with rhyme, rhythm and repetition. The child reads, sings and acts to each beautifully illustrated phonics poem/song. The illustrations of Lauren Ashley Panawa in the book are presented in a fun colorful magical way. It allows for a more interpersonal approach to reading. Visit the website for video (abcfunphonics.com) for exciting examples, and a video demonstration.Drogin used this program successfully in her multicultural New York kindergarten classroom with 100% of her students reading by the end of the year. The book was used as a graduation performance. The combined authors have 70 years' experience in education, and are members of the Palm Springs Writers Guild, Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and National Association for Education of Young Children in Washington D.C. Barbara presents at conferences for Early Childhood Education.The sisters are presently introducing "ABC Fun Phonics" into schools nationwide, to members of the Steinway association, principals, parents, Head Start programs and primary teachers. Everyone loves the program because of the interpersonal approach to reading through the Arts. How Do Green Buildings Impact Your Thinking, Health and Sleep? A New Global Study Wants to Find Out BOSTON: How do green buildings impact your thinking, sleep quality and health? You can soon find out for yourself. Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and SUNY Upstate Medical University are recruiting 100 office buildings from around the world to be part of a new, first-of-its-kind study to examine the effects of global indoor environments on employee productivity and health. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629791 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/us-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629791 173O212O198O32) For the next three years, the research team will assess employee cognitive function performance - a key indicator of productivity -- using a proven, standardized app-based process. Participants will get the 'ForHealth' kit from the Healthy Buildings team at Harvard that includes an environmental sensor for their desk and a wrist monitor to easily capture feedback on sleep and physical activity. The sensors connect seamlessly to a custom-built 'ForHealth' app that integrates data from the sensors and is used to administer the tests."Much of what we know about things like exercise and nutrition comes from the great human epidemiological cohort studies, like the famous Nurses' Health Study. We haven't had a similar study done for buildings - until now. This is a powerful study design that will allow us to quickly expand our knowledge of how buildings influence health across all 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building," said Dr. Joseph Allen, Assistant Professor of Exposure Assessment Science at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Chan School, and Principal Investigator for the study.The launch of the new study builds on the acclaimed COGfx studies, which revolutionized the concept of green building by unveiling its impact on human performance. The COGfx research shows significantly improved cognitive function scores among employees in green building environments, and this new, global study aims to better understand specific building-level factors that deliver improved thinking, productivity and health in building occupants around the world. The first COGfx study set the methodology and found a doubling of cognitive test scores when participants worked in a setting optimized for indoor environmental quality, like those found in green buildings. The second study took the research out of the lab, connecting green building with occupants' health and productivity in ten U.S. office buildings across geographic regions, finding a 26% improvement in cognitive test scores for those working in certified green buildings. Now, this third study will scale the research to further explore the connection between green buildings and human performance around the world."United Technologies is working to accelerate the green building movement around the world. We are engaged in an entirely new conversation on the value of green building because of this groundbreaking research," says John Mandyck, Chief Sustainability Officer, United Technologies. "With an expanded value proposition that now includes productivity along with energy and water savings, we hope more building investors, owners and tenants will choose green building. The research demonstrates that green building is not only good for the environment but also for people -- that is a powerful combination.""We know that green office buildings improve health, wellbeing and productivity thanks to groundbreaking academic research and data from leading businesses which are measuring the way buildings positively affect their staff," said Terri Wills, CEO of the World Green Building Council. "This new global study will build upon existing research by demonstrating that relationship on a global scale, further strengthening the case for action. We're eager to see the results."To kick off the global study, Harvard has engaged with JLL, a leading professional services firm to sign up the first cohort of buildings. JLL specializes in real estate and investment management and with operations in more than 80 countries, they have the ideal geographic reach for the COGfx Global study."The 'human experience' is becoming the driving force in how workplaces are designed, built and managed," said Bob Best, Executive Vice President, JLL. "At JLL we are turning our approach to building management inside-out. It's not how people fit into the buildings we manage; it's how we manage the buildings to fit the needs of the people inside. The future of work is here and this research is key to our new strategy." Toronto's future transit links hold promise of substantial real estate investment TORONTO: The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is projected to be Ontario's fastest-growing region over the next 25 years with its population increasing by 42.3pc to reach 9.6 million by 2041. (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629791 173O212O198O32) https://www.newkerala.com/business-world-news.php (Posted on 16 November 2017, 1668629791 173O212O198O32) Supporting these projections, the provincial Ministry of Infrastructure made the largest infrastructure investment in Ontario's history: more than $160 billion over 12 years, starting in 2014. Of these funds, 51% will go toward improving roads and transit. Developers are also making significant investments in all types of residential and commercial real estate in locations connected with the expansion of public infrastructure that will be required to accommodate future population growth. Key commercial growth areas in the GTA will emerge at a number of transit-oriented development hubs where there is a confluence of residential and commercial demand, creating significant opportunities for development and investment.These are some of the key trends noted in Avison Young's Topical Report: "Transit Nodes of Tomorrow: Development Opportunities in the Greater Toronto Area," released today."Our topical report profiles four commercial growth areas that demonstrate the importance of transit connections to future development: East Harbour, Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, the Pearson Transit Centre and the Hurontario Light-Rail Transit corridor," comments Bill Argeropoulos, Principal and Practice Leader, Research (Canada) for Avison Young. "With so much planned development on the drawing board and funding in place, this is a time of opportunity for forward-looking commercial property owners and occupiers."The report concludes that rapid population growth and demand for commercial space will challenge government and private developers' ability to deliver necessary infrastructure. However, strategic investment from both investor groups will provide significant opportunities for commercial property owners and occupiers to capitalize on the GTA's growth."The GTA has experienced extraordinary commercial and residential growth in recent years, and that trend looks set to continue and intensify in the coming decades," says Argeropoulos. "The recent news that Toronto is vying for selection as the location of Amazon's proposed $5-billion second headquarters in North America, and Google sister company Sidewalk Labs' plan to build a high-tech neighbourhood called Sidewalk Toronto on the city's waterfront, only serve to emphasize the importance of making investments in the city's future to further increase its appeal to major global corporations."Argeropoulos concludes: "The initiatives profiled in this report will all add to the Toronto region's increasing profile on the world stage. We are hopeful that the commitments made by private stakeholders and all levels of government will ensure the success of these plans, helping to future-proof the GTA and setting an example for achieving its long-term growth and prosperity."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 2,600 real estate professionals in 81 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. AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FASENRA (benralizumab) for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe asthma aged 12 years and older, and with an eosinophilic phenotype. FASENRA is not approved for the treatment of other eosinophilic conditions or relief of acute bronchospasm or status asthmaticus. Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer of AstraZeneca, said: "We're excited to offer FASENRA as a new precision biologic to help improve the lives of severe asthma patients whose disease is driven by eosinophilic inflammation. This is the first approval from our respiratory biologics portfolio and the latest in a series of significant milestones for our company as we deliver on our pipeline-driven transformation." The FDA approval is based on results from the WINDWARD program, including the pivotal Phase III exacerbation trials, SIROCCO and CALIMA, and the Phase III oral corticosteroid (OCS)-sparing trial, ZONDA. Results for the 8-week benralizumab dosing regimen from these trials showed: Eugene R. Bleecker, MD, Professor and Co-Director, Genetics, Genomics and Precision Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences, and lead investigator of the pivotal Phase III SIROCCO study, said: "This is an important day for severe, eosinophilic asthma patients who have had limited treatment options for far too long, with many relying on oral steroids to manage their symptoms. FASENRA has a strong clinical profile which includes the ability to show lung function improvement after the first dose, the potential to reduce - or even stop - oral steroid use, and the convenience of 8-week dosing. FASENRA also treats a distinct patient phenotype, helping physicians select the right patient in clinical practice with more confidence." FASENRA is the only respiratory biologic that provides direct, rapid and near-complete depletion of eosinophils within 24 hours, as observed in a Phase II study. Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell that are a normal part of the body's immune system. Elevated levels of eosinophils, seen in about half of severe asthma patients, impact airway inflammation and airway hyper-responsiveness, resulting in increased asthma severity and symptoms, decreased lung function and increased risk of exacerbations. FASENRA binds directly to the IL-5 receptor on an eosinophil and uniquely attracts natural killer cells to induce apoptosis (programmed cell death). FASENRA will be available as a subcutaneous injection via a prefilled syringe administered once every 4 weeks for the first 3 doses, and then once every 8 weeks thereafter. Karen Kempley, severe, eosinophilic asthma patient, said: "Most people don't appreciate the simple act of breathing until they can't do it. As someone with severe asthma, I know how devastating it is to not have control over your asthma and to live with the fear of not knowing when your next asthma attack might happen. When you can't breathe, you can't do the things you want or need to do - like go to work or be with your family - and that impacts every aspect of your life." Lab Diagnostics & Automation eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today FASENRA will be available in the US within the coming weeks. AstraZeneca recognizes patients may need assistance accessing FASENRA. FASENRA360 provides a range of support services for patients on FASENRA including access and reimbursement support, affordability programs for eligible patients, nursing support for FASENRA questions, and ongoing patient education. Eligible commercially insured patients may pay as little as $0 for FASENRA and as little as $0 for its injection administration. For more information, please call 1-833-360-HELP or visit www.FASENRA.com. On November 10, 2017, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion recommending the marketing authorization of benralizumab. Benralizumab is also under regulatory review in Japan and several other countries. INDICATION FASENRA is indicated for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients with severe asthma aged 12 years and older, and with an eosinophilic phenotype. IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION CONTRAINDICATIONS Known hypersensitivity to benralizumab or excipients. WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Hypersensitivity Reactions Hypersensitivity reactions (eg, anaphylaxis, angioedema, urticaria, rash) have occurred after administration of FASENRA. These reactions generally occur within hours of administration, but in some instances have a delayed onset (ie, days). Discontinue in the event of a hypersensitivity reaction. Acute Asthma Symptoms or Deteriorating Disease FASENRA should not be used to treat acute asthma symptoms, acute exacerbations, or acute bronchospasm. Reduction of Corticosteroid Dosage Do not discontinue systemic or inhaled corticosteroids abruptly upon initiation of therapy with FASENRA. Reductions in corticosteroid dose, if appropriate, should be gradual and performed under the direct supervision of a physician. Reduction in corticosteroid dose may be associated with systemic withdrawal symptoms and/or unmask conditions previously suppressed by systemic corticosteroid therapy. Parasitic (Helminth) Infection It is unknown if FASENRA will influence a patient's response against helminth infections. Treat patients with pre-existing helminth infections before initiating therapy with FASENRA. If patients become infected while receiving FASENRA and do not respond to anti-helminth treatment, discontinue FASENRA until infection resolves. ADVERSE REACTIONS The most common adverse reactions (incidence 5%) include headache and pharyngitis. Injection site reactions (eg, pain, erythema, pruritus, papule) occurred at a rate of 2.2% in patients treated with FASENRA compared with 1.9% in patients treated with placebo. USE IN SPECIFIC POPULATIONS The data on pregnancy exposure from the clinical trials are insufficient to inform on drug-associated risk. Monoclonal antibodies such as benralizumab are transported across the placenta during the third trimester of pregnancy; therefore, potential effects on a fetus are likely to be greater during the third trimester of pregnancy. The United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has issued a public notice yesterday, 14th November 2017, regarding the risks associated with herbal drug Kratom. Kratom has been used for a long time and still finds numerous users. The FDA has raised the issue about the potential safety risks associated with this botanical substance. Kratom grows naturally in several Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. It has been used for centuries by local farmers and populations as part of several herbal remedies. It contains alkaloids mitragynine and 7-hydroxymitragynine that have similar effects as opioids but do not affect breathing of the individual. Exact actions of the compounds present in this plant is not known. Kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) Mitragynine. Image Credit: frank60 / Shutterstock Several online websites and shops sell this product in the US claiming that kratom can cure several mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety and pain and also be used as a de-addiction agent. The FDA statement warns that none of these claims are true and use of kratom may cause the health care providers to miss important symptoms and prevent adequate diagnosis and treatment of several conditions. The FDA statement emphasizes that kratom naturally has similar effects like narcotics and opioids. This means that regular usage of these products can lead to addition and abuse problems. Severe over-dosage may also lead to death. The FDA states that kratom is not only used for medically unapproved indications but also used by a large number of people as a recreational drug because of its euphoria producing actions. Because of the increasing use of opioids as recreational drugs of abuse, another agent available on the market for purchase is of concern says the health agency. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, said, The FDA must use its authority to protect the public from addictive substances like kratom, both as part of our commitment to stemming the opioid epidemic and preventing another from taking hold. Gottleib goes on to say that kratom is being rampantly used in patients who are addicted to opioid drugs and are experiencing withdrawal symptoms due to stoppage of opioids. They add that there are several approved treatment regiments for patients who have opioid use disorder. Kratom use is unapproved in this condition and may worsen the problem. The FDA states that there is a ten times rise in the numbers of calls to the U.S. poison control centers regarding kratom between 2010 and 2015. This indicates that kratom use is far from being safe and non-toxic as purported by the sellers. There have been hundreds or reports yearly with 36 reported deaths due to kratom use the FDA notes. Further kratom preparations are being laced with synthetic opioids such as hydrocodone that increase their risk potential. Some of the serious side effects associated with kratom use include live damage, seizures or convulsions and symptoms of opioid withdrawal. The FDA then says that more investigations and scientific evidence needs to show that kratom use can be helpful in de-addiction from opioids or in other disease conditions such as pain before they can be used by the general public. At present no clear evidence of their safety or benefits is available. At present the FDA is taking steps to curb the use of kratom by preventing its shipments, conducting seizures, voluntary destruction of kratom containing products etc. Kratom is a controlled substance in several countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Sweden, Germany and Australia. In the US it is banned in Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee and Wisconsin at present. Reference: https://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm584970.htm The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a safety communication to warn consumers and health care practitioners about the serious injuries and disfigurement that can result from using injectable silicone or products being falsely marketed as FDA-approved dermal fillers for the purpose of enhancing the size of their buttocks, breasts and other body parts. "An important part of our public health mission is our obligation to warn consumers of unapproved products that are being marketed for medical uses that can cause serious harm. We have significant concerns with unsafe injectable silicone that's being marketed for body contouring by unlicensed providers. We've seen serious adverse events result from products, which are sometimes industrial-grade silicone, being used for these unapproved medical purposes," said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. "The FDA has stepped in to take enforcement actions against unscrupulous actors who promote and provide these services, but we also want to make the public aware of the risks, which can include irreversible disfigurement and even death. While we'll continue to go after those who provide these unlawful services, the FDA will have its greatest impact by educating Americans to avoid these unsafe practices." Injectable silicone is different from the silicone contained within approved breast implants, because the breast implant shell keeps the silicone from migrating within the body. Injectable silicone is currently only approved by the FDA for a specific use inside the eye (intraocular ophthalmic use). When seeking to enlarge the size of their buttocks or breasts, or other large-scale body contouring procedures, some consumers are falsely told they are receiving an FDA-approved dermal filler, but are actually injected with silicone. Consumers need to be aware that injectable silicone used for body contouring is not FDA-approved and can cause serious side effects that may be permanent or may even lead to death. Side effects can include ongoing pain and serious injuries, such as scarring, tissue death, and permanent disfigurement; if the silicone migrates beyond the injection site, it could cause an embolism (blockage of a blood vessel), stroke, infections and death. Serious complications may occur right away or could develop weeks, months, or years later. Silicone injections for body contouring are often performed by unlicensed and non-medical practitioners in non-clinical settings such as residential homes or hotels. The FDA does not know the true extent of these injuries caused by these procedures because unlicensed practitioners do not report injuries incurred from their illegal practice and patients who are harmed may not know to alert the FDA. "The FDA is alarmed by the increasing trend of injectable silicone being used for body contouring purposes," said Melinda Plaisier, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs at the FDA. "The agency has investigated and prosecuted unlicensed providers administering these injections all over the country, including most recently in Miami. In addition to prosecuting the criminals who take advantage of consumers, the FDA is taking action to educate consumers in order to prevent the serious injuries resulting from these injections. With our communication today, we hope to raise public awareness about the short- and long-term risks of injecting silicone directly into the body, and encourage consumers to choose FDA-approved products and licensed providers when considering any type of cosmetic enhancement." The FDA has participated in a number of criminal enforcement actions in recent years that resulted in the arrest and sentencing of unlicensed practitioners who illegally used these unapproved injections on patients. Two Miami spa owners were arrested in February and recently sentenced to four and six years in prison for managing a spa that performed illegal silicone injections. Hundreds of clients received illegal buttock injections and many experienced irreversible injuries and symptoms as a result of the silicone migrating through their body. The FDA encourages consumers who may have received injectable silicone to seek medical attention immediately if they experience problems such as difficulty breathing, chest pain, signs of a stroke (including sudden difficulty speaking, numbness or weakness in the face, arms, or legs, difficulty walking, face drooping, severe headache, dizziness, or confusion), as it may be a life-threatening situation. For those who are considering a body contouring procedure, talk with a health care provider about appropriate treatment options and the risks associated with the procedure. Consumers are encouraged to review the FDA's Check Before You Inject checklist for helpful information on choosing FDA-approved products and licensed providers for cosmetic enhancement. Those who have been offered or have received injectable silicone for body contouring from an unlicensed provider are encouraged to use the FDA website to Report Suspected Criminal Activity. A research team led by a biomedical scientist at the University of California, Riverside has discovered that the human protein resistin could be used to treat sepsis, the body's extreme and uncontrolled immune response to an infection. Sepsis kills about one in five affected people. Without timely treatment, this medical emergency can rapidly damage tissue and lead to organ failure. Using a transgenic mouse model expressing this hormone, the researchers found that mice expressing resistin had a 100 percent survival rate from a sepsis-like infection when compared to wild-type mice with the same infection. "A lot of scientific literature has posited that resistin is harmful," said Meera G. Nair, an assistant professor of biomedical sciences at UCR's School of Medicine and lead author of the paper that appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "But we may have misunderstood this secreted protein in our blood. My lab was intrigued by why we make so much of a substance that is, supposedly, not good for us. Resistin, we have now found, has a benefit: it is protective in sepsis. Further, because our bodies make this therapeutic, there is no fear of it being rejected." Nair and her team found that human resistin decreases the number of pro-inflammatory cytokines -; small secreted proteins that aid cell-to-cell communication in immune responses -; by binding to "Toll-like receptor 4" (TLR4), its receptor. This binding blocks TLR4 signaling in immune and inflammatory cells. TLR4, a molecule found on the surface of cells, is the innate receptor of our immune system and recognizes danger from foreign pathogens. During sepsis, for example, it recognizes lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the major component in the cell wall of the sepsis-causing bacteria. Too much LPS results in an overstimulation of TLR4, and the immune system goes into overdrive. Nair and her colleagues have found that when resistin binds to TLR4 it prevents TLR4 from recognizing LPS, eventually minimizing the immune response. "Sepsis is a consequence of bacterial infection," Nair said. "Patients can be treated with antibiotics to kill bacteria. But even if the bacteria are killed, LPS is left behind. As a result, the immune system goes into overdrive even with no infection still around. That's when other means become necessary to kill the bacteria and calm the immune system down. If we can stop the excessive immune response, we can stop sepsis." William Harnett, a professor of molecular immunology at the University of Strathclyde in the United Kingdom, explained that in spite of representing a very common medical emergency, sepsis remains difficult to treat, with newly tested strategies proving disappointing. "Using state-of-the-art experimental procedures, Meera Nair and colleagues now suggest a new approach, an intriguing development given this human resistin was previously considered to contribute to sepsis," said Harnett, who was not involved in the research. "The novel data they present reveal how resistin, by interacting with TLR4, can block the inflammatory responses induced by bacterial products that lead to sepsis. This is certainly an exciting finding and a noteworthy development in the drive to find new treatments for sepsis." Nair's team also worked with blood cells donated by healthy people and found that resistin bound to TLR4 even in these cells. In collaboration with clinicians at the Riverside University Health System Medical Center, the team will soon test blood cells from septic patients. The School of Medicine Dean's Research Innovation Fund will support these preliminary sepsis studies focusing on clinical samples. Nair noted that other labs have infected mice with worms to alleviate sepsis. "Worms can infect an estimated two-billion people worldwide," she said. "Worms have evolved with us for millions of years. They have adapted and can reside in us long term. To live inside us, they turn down our immune system. How do they accomplish this? It's possible that resistin is involved." "It's always been puzzling why worms living in the gut don't cause more problems with sepsis, as they cause tissue damage in the gut and the gut is full of bacteria," said P'ng Loke, an associate professor of microbiology at New York University, who was not involved in the research. "The results from Dr. Nair's study identify resistin as an important molecule induced by worms that could help prevent sepsis." Nair is also excited about the prospects for a new therapeutic sepsis treatment developed in her lab. Called Retn N-pep, this new compound was made in collaboration with Maurizio Pellecchia, a professor of biomedical sciences at UCR, director of the Center for Molecular and Translational Medicine (MOLMED), and a co-author on the research paper. "Retn N-pep blocked TLR4," said Nair, who is a member of MOLMED. "It is smaller and more effective than human resistin in blocking inflammation in human blood cells. Potentially, it could inhibit any inflammatory disease involving TLR4. Dr. Pellecchia is now optimizing Retn N-pep to fold better and be more effective. Fortunately, all the chips fell into place at UCR to allow for this clinical collaboration, placing the university at the forefront of translational, therapeutic research." Pellecchia, who holds the Daniel Hays Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at UCR, said the project is the fruit of Nair's ingenuity and perseverance. "I am confident that Retn N-pep, based entirely on Dr. Nair's pivotal discoveries, can be translated into an effective and innovative treatment for sepsis," he said. While the research from Nair's lab focused only on sepsis, human resistin may be useful in modulating inflammation in TLR4-mediated diseases and treating conditions that involve overactive TLR4 activation, such as autoimmune diseases and inflammatory bowel disease. Keen contest in Ktm-5 as heavyweights clash As the election date draws closer, the battle in Kathmandu-5 is heating up with top-notch leaders of political parties vying for a seat at the House of Representative from the area. So Alfred was really alive in Batman vs. Robin #3 ... sort of Bruce Wayne's inner demons are weaponized as he fights the Bat family in Batman vs. Robin #3 Managing Editor Having lived and worked in Indy on and off since 1977, and currently living in Carmel, I've seen the city change a great deal. I love covering the arts in all its forms, and the places where the arts and broader cultural issues intersect. 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. Battle of province 1: Koirala, Pandit frontrunners in Morang-6 The election mood in Morang-6 is running at a fever pitch, with two political heavyweights Shekhar Koirala of Nepali Congress and Lalbabu Pandit of CPN-UML, contesting from the constituency. NC scrapped deal to raise money: Oli CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli has accused the Nepali Congress of scrapping the Budhi Gandaki hydroelectric project development contract with Chinas Gezhouba Group Corporation in order to raise money for its election campaign. Nepal Business Excellence Awards 2017 Sipradi Trading Private Limited, one of the largest trading companies in Nepal, has bagged the Super Platinum Award for outstanding performance in overall business practices, including customer-focused services. Nepali Students Fastest Growing Enrollment in US Universities Nepali students studying in US universities are the fastest growing international student population studying at colleges and universities in the United States, the 2017 Open Doors Report stated. Nepali worker dies in Malaysia A migrant worker from Saptari district has died in Malaysia. Next Cabinet meeting to decide further on Budhi Gandaki project A day after the government cancelled an agreement signed with a Chinese company to build the 1,200-megawatt Budhi Gandaki Hydropower Project, the Energy Ministry is weighing two options to ensure timely completion of the project. A new proposal is expected to be presented to the next Cabinet meeting. NHRC calls for end to attacks on election campaigns National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed its concern over the growing attacks and obstruction during the election campaigns in various parts of the country. NHRC to probe attacks on candidates The National Human Rights Commission is preparing to monitor the ongoing attacks on the candidates for the upcoming federal and provincial elections. Oli, Dahal to address election meet in Lamjung The left alliance comprising of CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre) is all set launch their election campaign trail from Besisahar, Lamjung on Wednesday. Poll fight gets tough With two senior Nepali Congress leaders in the fray, Kanchanpur in the far west has attracted considerable attention. 'Poor' no more: 'Moderate' Delhi air to improve further with strong winds Air pollution: Kejriwal, Khattar say they will work together to tackle smog India oi-Deepika By Deepika Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh to discuss ways to check stubble burning among other pollution-related issues. Following the meeting, both the chief ministers addressed a joint press conference and said Delhi and Haryana will work together to check the menace of smog. "We had a very positive discussion, we will take all steps possible to tackle the situation," Arvind Kejriwal said with Manohar Khattar by his side. Khattar called air pollution a "common concern" and said that Haryana will work towards ensuring that Delhi has better air quality levels. "Satellite data shows that stubble burning has significantly reduced in Haryana," Khattar said. Kejriwal has been seeking a meeting with his counterparts from Haryana and Punjab over the last few days to find a solution to stubble burning in the neighbouring states. "Myself, Delhi environment minister and environment secretary (are) on our way to Haryana to discuss issues related to pollution with the Hon'ble CM of Haryana and his team. Look forward to a fruitful discussion," the Delhi Chief Minister tweeted. Myself, Del Env Minister n Env Secy on our way to Haryana to discuss issues related to pollution with Hon'ble CM of Haryana and his team. Look forward to a fruitful discussion Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 15, 2017 Kejriwal said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had called him and told him that the latter was in Delhi till Tuesday, but cannot meet him in Delhi, citing "he (Khattar) was very busy". Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, with whom Kejriwal had sought an appointment as he was anyway coming to Chandigarh to meet the Haryana CM, has refused the request for a meeting. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the Delhi government moved a fresh petition in the National Green Tribunal (NGT), this time also seeking the tribunal's direction to neighbouring states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh to implement the odd-even car rationing scheme. OneIndia News Elevation of individual does not elevate whole community: Yashwant on NDA's prez candidate Droupadi Murmu Before switching sides, this is what BJP ex-mantri Yashwant Sinha said in the past Are Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha the two most trusted, loyal leaders of Congress? India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Recommended Video Shatrughan Sinha and Yashwant Sinha : How will PM Modi tackle rebel leaders | Oneindia News New Delhi, Nov 15: It's has become the biggest dilemma for the Narendra Modi government--how to deal with its own senior rebel leaders? Of late, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is facing more internal criticism than the external ones over its various "failed" economic policies, including demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST). These days, it seems BJP veteran leader and former Union minister Arun Shourie is taking a break from targeting the Modi government. But that has not deterred his party colleagues--former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and Bihar BJP member of Parliament (MP) Shatrughan Sinha from constantly criticising the ruling BJP over various issues. Gauging their sharp and direct attacks against the Modi government and the Prime Minister himself on several occasions, these days, a popular joke is doing the rounds in Lutyens' Delhi that both the Sinhas are the two most "trusted and loyal" leaders of the opposition Congress. Because whenever they speak they attack the BJP to the utter glee of the Congress. Similarly, one more joke is popular that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is also the most trusted and loyal leader of the BJP because since the time the Gandhi scion has taken charge of the grand old party it has immensely benefitted the saffron party. Yashwant Sinha & Shatrughan Sinha are two most trusted & liable leaders of Congress Party. On the other hand Rahul Gandhi is most trusted & liable leader of BJP. #YashwantSinha Ravi (@hypernationlist) November 15, 2017 On Wednesday, the hashtag, Yashwant Sinha, was trending on Twitter after he once again targeted Arun Jaitley calling the Union finance minister "a burden on Gujarat" at an event organised by "Lokshahi Bachao Abhiyan" in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. At the same event, the former finance minister added that "demonetisation has caused a loss of Rs 3.75 lakh crore to the country and currently the economy is standing on one leg". The latest attack by the bureaucrat-turned-politician is an addition to what he had already said against the demonetisation and the GST when he wrote a scathing article against the Modi government in The India Express in September. Similarly, the actor-turned-politician Sinha too has been regularly condemning the Modi government on Twitter. These are some of his latest vitriolic tweets against the PM and his government: Highly appreciate Hon'ble PM's multiple initiatives & trips to many nations,latest to Philippines. Hope wish & pray that at least this time the trip gives some fruitful results & is not just another photo op. Hope no one minds! After all we live in a democracy don't we? Jai Hind! Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) November 13, 2017 Isn't it enough of hugging business, photo ops, learning & unlearning about farming. At least during crucial elections, with the sole agenda of India's development, please come back Saheb...and let us work for the nation & it's progress. With love! Jai Hind! Shatrughan Sinha (@ShatruganSinha) November 14, 2017 In spite of regular attacks from these two veterans, why is the BJP not expelling the two Sinhas? "It's difficult to do so. Both the Sinhas are well-educated and have a good reputation as knowledgeable persons. Moreover, they are speaking the truth. If the BJP expels them it would backfire, so the saffron party is keeping quiet except for occasional snubs from Jaitley against his predecessor Sinha," said a political analyst from Delhi. OneIndia News Auto driver forced by cops to say he dropped Najeeb at Jamia: CBI India oi-Vicky By Vicky The autorickshaw driver who the Delhi police claimed had dropped off Najeeb Ahmed at the Jamia Milia Islamia has retracted his statements. The Central Bureau of Investigation which is probing the mysterious disappearance of the JNU said that the driver had made the statement before the Delhi police under duress. The status report, giving details of the steps the CBI has taken in the matter, was submitted in a sealed cover before a bench of Justices S Muralidhar and IS Mehta. According to CBI sources, when agency sleuths grilled the auto-rickshaw driver he told them that he was forced to give a statement that he had picked 27-year-old Najeeb Ahmed, a student of M.Sc in Biotechnology, from the JNU campus and left him at Jamia Millia Islamia on October 15 last year. The driver's statement was recorded under duress by the Delhi Police, the CBI submitted to the high court, the agency sources said. Najeeb went missing on October 15 following an on-campus scuffle allegedly with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members the night before in Mahi-Mandavi Hostel of JNU. The probe agency, which earlier received flak from the court for its "complete lack of interest" in the matter, told the bench that it was awaiting forensic results of the mobile phones of nine JNU students that were seized in connection with its probe. Asked about the status report, CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal said he would not comment on the report as it was submitted in a "sealed cover" and the matter was sub-judice. The high court bench said, "CBI has handed over a status report. It reflects further steps taken in the matter. The court does not think it appropriate to discuss the details of the investigation given in the status report in the open court." The agency, which refused to give a copy of the report to the counsel for Najeeb Ahmed's mother citing the reasons of leakage of contents in the media, showed the details to the complainant's advocate for his perusal inside the court. During the hearing, CBI's counsel Nikhil Goel said their investigation was continuing and they have seized the mobile phones of nine students suspected of being behind Najeeb's disappearance and sent them to the forensic science laboratory (FSL) which is yet to give its report. Their call detail records were also being analysed, he said, adding that since the case was of a sensitive nature and if the details come out in the media, it would be difficult for officials to extract information. When the CBI's counsel urged the court to conduct in-chamber proceedings in the matter, the bench said it would consider it on the next date of hearing on December 21. The court considered it appropriate to wait for the FSL results. Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Najeeb's mother, asked why the CBI was not taking anyone into custody to extract information and alleged that it was a political abduction by ABVP students due to which the probe agencies were acting slow. To this, the bench said it was not supposed to supervise the probe at this stage but only to ensure that the probe was not hampered or influenced in any manner. "We cannot put unnecessary pressure on the probe agency. We completely understand the anxiety and tension of the parents," the bench said. The court was also informed that the CBI plea seeking the consent of the suspect students for a polygraph test was listed for hearing tomorrow before a trial court here. The CBI had earlier faced flak from the high court for its "complete lack of interest" and not showing any result in its probe into the disappearance of Najeeb, five months after being handed over the investigation. Over a month after Najeeb went missing, his mother had moved the High Court on November 25, 2016, seeking directions to the police to trace her son. The high court had immediately directed the Delhi Police to "explore all angles" and "cut across political barriers" to trace the young man, saying no one could just vanish from the heart of the national capital. However, as the police remained clueless about Najeeb's whereabouts even after seven months since he went missing, the probe was handed over to CBI on May 16, 2017. In August, when CBI failed to file a fresh progress report in the case, the high court had rebuked it, saying the probe was not transferred to the agency "for fun". On September 6, the court again directed the CBI to take steps to trace Najeeb. OneIndia News Ayodhya dispute: VHP rules out need for mediation India pti-PTI Lucknow, November 15: The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Wednesday ruled out the need for a dialogue over the Ayodhya dispute, saying that archaeological evidence in the matter was in favour of the Hindus and courts go by proof. VHP spokesman Sharad Sharma's statement comes in the backdrop of Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar's offer of mediation and Shia Waqf Board's chairman Wasim Rizvi's claims of striking an amicable settlement over the Ayodhya issue. "There is no relevance of the (recent) clamour for agreement over the Ram Janmbhoomi after the archaeological shreds of evidence in this regard have been found to be in favour of the Hindus... the courts also go by evidence," Sharma said. "The VHP respects Sri Sri Ravishankar but he should know that efforts in this regard in the past, in which prime ministers, governments and Shankaracharya were also involved, failed to give any result," he said. Stressing that after the suggestion by the Supreme Court some people have become very active. "Even those who have no contribution in the movement are leading the campaign for striking an agreement," Sharma said questioning the longevity of such an agreement and its repercussions. The Supreme Court on March 21 suggested an out-of-court settlement of the land dispute at Ayodhya, observing that issues of "religion and sentiments" can be best resolved through talks. The VHP leader said, "The Ram Janmbhoomi belongs to the Hindus and they need not beg anyone for it...the Muslims should themselves take the writ petition back as they had stated in the affidavit in the court." "The VHP is keeping an eye on the activities of those involved in the activities of an agreement...It was a temple in Ayodhya and will remain as one...the only work remaining to be done is to give it a grandeur which will be done through Parliament," he said. "Lord Rama is the matter of faith for crores of Hindus...the idol is installed at his birthplace and puja is continuously going on...no power can shift it anywhere else," he said, adding that the matter of the Ram Janmbhoomi temple will be discussed in the 15th 'Dharam Sansad' in Karnataka between November 24 to 26. PTI BJP releases candidate list for Karnataka legislative council elections 2017 India oi-Vikas By Vikas The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Central Election Committee (CEC) on Wednesday finalised the names of six candidates for the Karnataka legislative council election 2017. The CEC meeting was held at party's headquarters in Ashok Road in Delhi. "As far as the legislative of Karnataka is concerned, for all the 6 seats a list has been declared. It will be on the website," CEC secretary and Union Minister JP Nadda told the media after the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. It was also attended by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other members of the CEC. The following is the list of BJP's candidates: South-West Graduates constituency - Ayanur Manjunath South West Teachers constituency - Ganesh Karnik South Teachers constituency - B Niranjan Murthy North East Graduates constituency - KB Shrinivas South East Teachers constituency - Dr Haalunur S Lepakshi Bangalore Graduates constituency - A Devegowda The Karnataka Legislative Council is a permanent body comprising 75 members. At present, among the 75 members of the Legislative Council, 25 are elected by the Karnataka Legislative Assembly members, 25 are elected by local authorities, 7 are elected by the Graduates, 7 are elected by the Teachers and 11 members are nominated by the Governor of Karnataka. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 22:17 [IST] CJI decides who hears case, even if charge is against him: SC India oi-Vicky By Vicky The Chief Justice is the authority to assign a matter to a Bench even if there were allegations against him. These observations were made by the Supreme Court while rejecting a plea by advocate Kamini Jaiswal in connection with the Lucknow medical scam. On an earlier date of hearing there was plenty of drama in the court hall when in an unprecedented development, the CJI constituted a five judge Bench to hear the matter. In doing so, the CJI overturned the ordered of a two judge Bench which had listed the matter before a five judge Bench earlier. The CJI held that the decision by the two judge bench is contrary to the law and annulled it. It may be recalled that a two judge Bench headed by Justice Chelameswar had set up a five judge Bench to hear a petition in which an allegation of judge-middlemen nexus to favour medical colleges to admit students was made. However another two judge Bench headed by Justice A K Sikri on Friday referred a similar petition to the CJI for listing before an appropriate Bench. The CJI said that he alone could constitute the Bench. The CJI is the master of the administrative side for listing cases and hence he alone can constitute such a Bench, Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra observed. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 6:00 [IST] Congress MLA Ambareesh skips assembly session, seen dancing in movie function India oi-Chennabasaveshwar By Chennabasaveshwar Known for regular absence in assembly sessions, Karnataka Congress MLA Ambareesh has yet again courted controversy by skipping the Belgavi Assembly session in Belgavi. He was seen dancing at a music launch in Bengaluru as he skipped the session on Tuesday. A video of him dancing at the music launch is going viral. However, Karnataka Congress Working President, Dinesh Gundurao, said this shouldn't be taken too seriously as he is a "different kind of politician". "Even as Union Minister he didn't attend minister's office because of his own reasons, Mandya-Kaveri issue and all," Gundurao told ANI. Ambareesh has just four days of attendance in 218 days of 14 sessions. A complaint was also lodged with the Speaker against him for his regular absence. #WATCH: Karnataka Cong MLA Ambarish skips assembly session in Belgavi, seen dancing at a music launch in Bengaluru, y'day (Amateur Video) pic.twitter.com/1mmb2mdqoK ANI (@ANI) November 15, 2017 OneIndia News Cow vigilantism on rise, govt shying from taking action: Sachin Pilot India pti-PTI Ahmedabad, Nov 15: Accusing the BJP-led governments in Rajasthan and Gujarat of shying away from their responsibility to take action against cow vigilantes, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Wednesday said such elements were now terrorising the people. Speaking about a recent incident in Alwar district of Rajasthan, where a man was shot dead allegedly by cow vigilantes, Pilot claimed that Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of the state, was in that district when the incident took place. "Such incidents (involving cow vigilantes) are surfacing on a regular basis, be it in Gujarat or Rajasthan. These incidents are condemnable and I believe that those in the government are shying away from their responsibility," he told mediapersons on his arrival at the airport in Ahmedabad. "The entire country is talking about how gau-rakshaks (cow vigilantes), they are terrorising people. In Rajasthan, crimes such as murder, abduction, rape and robbery have become routine affairs. These crimes are happening right under the nose of the government. The Rajasthan chief minister was in that district when the firing incident took place," Pilot said. He was responding to a query about the alleged killing of Umar Khan (35) in the Ramgarh area of Alwar district recently. Khan's body was found near the railway tracks in Ramgarh on November 11, with his family members and activists alleging that he was shot dead by cow vigilantes while he was ferrying cattle in a vehicle the day before. "No one is allowed to take law into their hands. What is the use of the police or courts if some elements, who claim to be the protectors of law, kill people saying they are doing justice," he said. The former Union minister also lashed out at the BJP government in Rajasthan over the controversy surrounding upcoming Bollywood film "Padmavati", saying it should have intervened earlier to resolve the issue. "If a person or a community or a class has any problem, we should intervene at an appropriate time to find a solution. But, since the state government did not intervene earlier, the issue has reached this stage," he added. "I have seen that such conflicts always help the BJP. I firmly believe that the Rajasthan government should have made efforts to find a solution by intervening in the matter earlier," Pilot said. PTI CPI skips Kerala cabinet meet attended by Thomas Chandy India oi-Deepika By Deepika The CPI has boycotted the weekly Cabinet meeting where embattled transport minister Thomas Chandy is also likely to be present.The meeting began a short while ago at Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. The CPI is under tremendous pressure for the resignation of the NCP leader, who is facing charges of land encroachment after the High Court dismissed his petition against Alappuzha District Collector's report on land encroachment. The CM will take a call on the resignation of Transport Minister Thomas Chandy, who is facing encroachment allegations, after getting a copy of the high court judgement. This was stated by Chandy after a nearly 40 minute meeting with Vijayan at Cliff House, the CM's official residence this morning. Chandy told reporters at the Secretariat that the chief minister will take a decision on his (Chandy's) resignation after getting a copy of the division bench judgement. The Kerala High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by Transport Minister Thomas Chandy challenging a report by the Alappuzha Collector on the alleged encroachments by a company in which he has a stake. Responding to the High Court verdict, Chandy said Tuesday that he would quit if the observation against him is in the signed verdict of the High Court. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said that an "appropriate decision" would be taken at the right time after examining the HC order and the NCP's decision. OneIndia News Gujarat Assembly polls: How about buying BJP t-shirt, Congress umbrella in Surat? India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Gandhinagar, Nov 15: Ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, the state has turned into a shoppers' paradise. And, the best part is that every product has a stamp of either politics or political parties. If you don't believe us, then go to Surat, the commercial hub of Gujarat, where a shop is offering election merchandise, ranging from t-shirts with a lotus logo (representing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) symbol) to umbrellas with a hand logo (depicting the Congress' symbol). It's not just t-shirts and umbrellas, even books and food products have a flavour of either the BJP or the Congress--the two main political parties fighting to win the poll battle--slated on December 9 and 14. The vibrant shop soaked in multitude of colours is also adorned with a huge cardboard cutout of BJP president Amit Shah, which is right at the entrance to welcome patrons. Gujarat: Wholesale shop in Surat offers election merchandise ahead of #GujaratElections pic.twitter.com/f8xnq9RYHn ANI (@ANI) November 14, 2017 The owner of the shop said he had products representing both the political parties and did not give preference to the BJP over the Congress and vice-versa. "The shop is a neutral place. The supporters of both the BJP and the Congress can visit us. They can buy whatever they want. This is the election season and everyone has the right to choose his/her own political party or candidate," smiled the shop owner. When asked whether customers prefer to purchase products representing the BJP or the Congress, a shopkeeper at the makeshift stall said, "There is a demand for both kinds of products. It's 50-50." Does that mean both the BJP and the Congress are fighting a close contest in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home turf? A patron, who was seen selecting goods with the BJP logo, said that election would decide the ultimate winner. Till then it's raining 'political' merchandise in Surat. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 6:34 [IST] Prez Bhandari hold talks with UAE crown prince in Abu Dhabi President Bidya Devi Bhandari, who is on an official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), held talks with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces at Crown Prince Court on Tuesday. Gujarat Election Commission censors BJPs poll advertisement featuring Pappu India oi-Oneindia By Oneindia Recommended Video Gujarat Assembly polls : State EC bans BJP's ad calling Rahul Gandhi 'Pappu' | Oneindia News Gandhinagar, Nov 15: The irony of the situation could not be missed in this particular episode as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are raising hell after the Gujarat Election Commission has blocked the use of the word "Pappu" in a television poll advertisement of the party for the upcoming state Assembly elections scheduled on December 9 and 14. In fact, it is the BJP which has been at the forefront whenever it comes to banning scenes and words from any films, latest examples being the Tamil movie Mersal and upcoming Bollywood film, Padmavati. According to TV news channel, Times Now, the state EC after viewing an unreleased TV advertisement of the BJP for the upcoming Gujarat poll campaign has asked the party to remove the word "Pappu" mentioned in the video. To remind our readers, "Pappu" is the word infamously used to target Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi by his critics, including some top BJP leaders. The online critics have christened Rahul with names like "Prince" and "Pappu". "Pappu" has especially stuck with him. Even some Congressmen call him "Pappu". "Pappu" is a Hindi word used to ridicule a person as someone who is "worthless" or a "fool". Recently, a Congress leader from UP addressed him as "Pappu" on WhatsApp, and ended up being sacked from the party. Coming back to the Gujarat poll advertisement of the BJP, the state EC has strongly objected to the TV advertisement featuring an individual named "Pappu". According to Times Now, the state EC stated that the advertisement, which indirectly targets Congress VP, is derogatory. TIMES NOWs @MeghaSPrasad accesses letters written by Guj poll panel to BJP objecting to the use of word Pappu in its advt #PappuCensored pic.twitter.com/2IJ3Uolyq7 TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) November 14, 2017 "After examining the audio-visual advertisement, the state EC said the caricature used in the clip depicts a 'certain personality' and the name 'Pappu' is embarrassing in Gujarati," reported Times Now. "In this political advertisement, it (Pappu) should not be used, the committee recommends a change in this advertisement," read the letter sent to the BJP by the poll panel. The state EC also cited Television Network Rules 1994 to ban the BJP's new campaign. The state EC's suggestion to change the advertisement by removing the word "Pappu" has been strongly opposed by the BJP leaders, calling it "censorship". It seems the BJP is once again going to appeal to the state EC to pass the advertisement without any cuts. The BJP in its defence stated that no leader has been directly named in the advertisement. Taking a dig at the state EC, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: "The EC has made this word Pappu official and made it synonymous with Rahul Gandhi." Coming out in support of the decision of the state EC, Rajiv Desai, public affairs analyst, was quoted as saying by Times Now, "BJP has lost the plot in Gujarat. They can do whatever they want.This BJP ad is intended to belittle a political rival." The BJP has released several TV advertisements as a part of its poll campaign in Gujarat. OneIndia News Cong for Muslims, BJP for Hindus: Did Rahuls temple visits in Guj help to bust the myth? My meet with Rahul would have prevented BJP's Gujarat win: Hardik Patel Gujarat elections: Amit Shah predicts 150 seats, dares Congress to name its CM face India oi-Deepika By Deepika Recommended Video Gujarat Assembly polls : Amit Shah predicts 150 seats for BJP out of 182 | Oneindia News BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that his party will win over 150 out of the total 182 seats in the Gujarat assembly elections due next month. Shah was speaking at the News18 Gujarati's Agenda Gujarat programme, which brought Congress and BJP together to discuss the upcoming elections. The BJP chief countered the criticism against Goods and Services Tax (GST), saying that it will be an 'aashirvaad' for traders within a year. Shah said that within a year, traders will realise that GST as an aashirvaad blessing and not a burden. The Prime Minister is personally looking into the matter and the results will be out in the open for everyone to see, he added. Highlighting the work the Narendra Modi led government was doing at the Centre, Shah said that India has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Shah also declared that Vijay Rupani will be leading the campaign for BJP in the assembly elections. Taking on Congress VP Rahul Gandhi's aggressive campaign in the state head-on, he challenged the Congress to name its chief ministerial candidate in Gujarat. Congress has outsourced these elections. They neither have a clear strategy nor a definite leader. They are bringing in leaders from outside and borrowing BJP's strategy," Shah said. He also dismissed Patidar leader Hardik Patel and Shankersinh Vaghela's Jan Vikalp, saying that no third front has ever stood a chance in Gujarat. Taking a dig at the Congress party, in what is being seen as a two-horse in Gujarat Assembly polls, the BJP president said that his party's work will speak for itself and the Congress' dream to come back in power will meet the same fate as in the previous Assembly elections. "Congress has been speaking of its return since 2002. They will still be speaking at these polls and perhaps in 2022 as well," Shah said. On a question of a perceived increase in Congress party's popularity in Gujarat, Shah displayed confidence and predicted that the BJP would nab 150 seats. The Gujarat Assembly election will be held in two phases, on December 9 and December 14. The vote counting will happen alongside Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections on December 18. OneIndia News Bomb materials stored by JMB terrorist at Electronic City, Bengaluru seized by NIA Shift from the past: Pakistan terrorists using China made grenades in Valley 2 Army officers killed in accidental grenade blast along LOC in J-K's Poonch Hand Grenade recovered from Cooch Behar district of West Bengal India oi-Amitava By Amitava A live hand grenade was recovered from the Town Club ground, Haldibari in North Bengal on Wednesday morning. The ground from where the hand grenade was recovered is located at a stone throw's distance from the Haldibari police station in the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal. On Wednesday morning local residents spotted the hand grenade lying in the undergrowth of the Town Club Ground. They immediately informed the police. With the area located in close proximity to the Bangladesh border, the BSF guarding the Indo- Bangladesh borders, also arrived to look into the matter along with the police. A police contingent has been posted in the area. "We are investigating the incident" stated Pravin Pradhan, Inspector in Charge of the Haldibari police station. Incidentally, Cooch Behar once upon a time was the home of the banned militant outfit, the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO.) The main objective of the KLO is to carve a separate Kamtapur nation comprising of 6 districts of West Bengal; 4 districts of Assam; 1 district of Bihar and 1 district of Nepal. Cooch Behar in the past has been a witness of KLO activities. Earlier KLO militants have been arrested and arms recovered from areas bordering Assam in the Cooch Behar district. OneIndia News Goa: Digambar Kamat and Michael Lobo say they are with Congress Illegal mining case: Digambar Kamat summoned for questioning on Nov 21 India oi-Vikas By Vikas Former Goa minister Digambar Kamat, who is an accused in the illegal mining case, has been summoned for questioning by the SIT on November 21, said reports. Kamat, who was the state Mines Minister when the alleged illegality happened, had been quizzed by the crime branch in the past as well. The SIT is investigating a complaint filed by the Mines and Geology department in July 2013 seeking to fix criminal liability on those involved in the illegal mining as pointed out by various committees, including the Centre-appointed Justice M B Shah Commission. The crime branch had registered an FIR in August 2013 against those named in reports prepared by Shah Commission and other committees, including Digambar Kamat, former Mines and Geology department director Arvind Lolienkar and some other officials of the department, besides officials of mining firms. The FIR was registered under sections 120 (b) (conspiracy), 166 (public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person) of the IPC and under Prevention of Corruption Act, Mines and Minerals Development Act, Mineral Conservation and Development Rules and Goa Prevention of Illegal Mining Transportation, Storage of Minerals Rules 2004. OneIndia News with PTI inputs For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 20:56 [IST] International gold smuggling ring busted in North Bengal India oi-Amitava By Amitava The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence busted an international gold smuggling racket in Siliguri in West Bengal that was operational in different parts of the country. Three persons hailing from Maharashtra were arrested in this connection. Based on a tip-off, sleuths of DRI laid a trap in front of the Tenzing Norgay Bus Terminus on the Hill Card Road, Siliguri. The three were nabbed from there. The arrested include Sachin Patil (24years) from Shrigaon, Maharashtra; Krishna Shanker Kirdat (25 years) and Uttam Dilip Gujale (31 years) from Vasumbe, Maharastra. They were taken to the DRI office and searched. All of them were wearing specially made belts in which the gold bars were hidden. The three were carrying gold bars of 1kg weight each. The bars were 24 carat and had Swiss markings. A goldsmith certified the gold. The gold is worth Rupees 93 lakh 10 thousand. Interrogation revealed that the gold was sourced through China into Bhutan. From Bhutan the three had smuggled the gold and were heading to Maharashtra through Kolkata. From Maharashtra, the gold would be dispatched to buyers throughout the country. The three were produced at the ACJM Court in Siliguri on Wednesday. "The three have revealed of the existence of an International smuggling ring that is operational in this region. There are local buyers for the gold too" stated Ratan Banik, Counsel representing the DRI. The three were granted interim conditional bail as carrying illegal gold below the worth of Rs. 1 Crore is a bailable offense. They have been ordered not to leave the city and to report to the Investigating officer at regular intervals. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 23:18 [IST] Is Delhi the capital of India: Constitution does not say so argues Kejriwal govt India oi-Vicky By Vicky Does the Constitution say, Delhi is the capital of India or has there been any law to this effect passed by Parliament. This was a poser before the Supreme Court by the Arvind Kejriwal government. The Delhi government is arguing to carve out specific areas for unhindered exercise of its executive power. Appearing for the Delhi government, Indira Jaising told a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra that there was no reference in the Constitution that Delhi was the capital of India. A capital is not defined by any law. The Centre can tomorrow decide to move the Capital to anywhere in the country. We know that the British moved the capital from Calcutta to Delhi, she also said. She also argued that there needs to be a division of executive power between the Centre and the Delhi government so as to enable the Kejriwal government to function smoothly. OneIndia News For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 6:57 [IST] ISIS advise for Kerala Muslims: Poison food at Thrissur pooram, Kumbh Mela India oi-Vicky By Vicky Recommended Video ISIS is planning a 'Lone Wolf Attack' during Kumbh Mela, reveals an audio clip | Oneindia News Amidst claims by the Kerala police that at least 100 from the state have joined the Islamic State, a new audio clip calling for attacks on Thrissur pooram and Kumbh Mela has surfaced. The audio clip in Malayalam was circulated on the Telegram group in which an operative calls for war on India. The voice in the 10-minute clip is that Rashid Abdullah, the leader of the ISIS module in Kasargod. In the clip, apart from calling for attacks, it also advises Muslims to migrate from Darul Kufr to Darul Islam. Further, it says that if it not possible to do that, then people must offer financial assistance to Daulatul Islam and the Islamic State. Further, the clip gives advise on how to carry out the attacks at Thrissur pooram and Kumbh Mela. First, go and poison the food, then use trucks to drive them over. Do it like the way, the ISIS fighters across the world are doing it, the clip also advises. One of the supporters killed many at a music concert. Here at least one of us must try to derail a train or use a knife in an attack, the clip also says. Even if they try to end us, they will not succeed. We may suffer losses, but Daulat Islam will always ben active and we will fight to our deaths, the clip further states. OneIndia News Before the ceasefire on Feb 24, Pakistan resorted to over 4,000 border violations Amidst ceasefire claims, Pakistan continues to keep J&K on the boil 664 ceasefire violations this year in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan: MHA No ceasefire violation along LoC in Kashmir since February agreement J&K: Ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Poonch Sector India oi-Madhuri Pakistani troops violated ceasefire in Poonch Sector in Baramulla district of Jammu Kashmir on Wednesday, prompting a strong retaliation by the Indian Army. However, no casualties have been reported in today's firing so far. The Indian Army personnel were giving a "strong and befitting" response to the ceasefire violation. There have been nearly 12,000 ceasefire violations by Pakistan since 2002, which have resulted in the killing of 313 people, including 144 security forces personnel. The highest number of such violations took place in 2002 when 8376 incidents were reported while 2045 incidents of ceasefire violations were reported in 2003. This year alone, there have been 105 ceasefire violations by Pakistan Rangers along the IB in Jammu frontier area in J&K. OneIndia News Karnataka: Private doctors to go on indefinite strike from Thursday over KPME bill India oi-Anusha Recommended Video Karnataka private hospitals go on indefinite strike to oppose KPME bill | Oneindia News Close to 22,000 private doctors in Bengaluru alone will go on an indefinite strike from Thursday. OPD services, elective surgeries, diagnostic centers, clinics etc will remain shut according to the Karnataka Private Doctors association. Emergency services, dialysis, cancer care and emergency diagnostic services will remain unaffected. The protesting doctors will assemble in Bengaluru on Thursday to stage a 'silent protest' against the tabling of the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act (Amendment) bill in the ongoing assembly session at Belagavi. Doctors have demanded that four amendments to the proposed amendment bill be dropped. Close to 6,000 hospitals, diagnostic centers, special surgical homes, clinics are likely to be shut for Outpatient services on Thursday in Bengaluru alone. "We do not want to inconvenience the patients but the bill will mean doom for private hospitals as well as patients. We demand that the government drop the amendments. We do not understand what the Karnataka health minister wants through this bill. It will mean the end of our profession and the government does not have the sources to treat all patients at government hospitals," said Dr. Jayanna, President-Elect, KPME association Doctors have been protesting against the Siddaramaiah government's attempt to table the bill, that includes price regulation for procedures at private hospitals and punishment including imprisonment for wrong treatment against doctors. Doctors have alleged that the bill is an election gimmick by the government. Talks between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and representatives of protesting doctors failed to yield any results on Tuesday. OneIndia News Another targeted killing: Two non-locals killed in targeted attack in J&K 40 down and counting: Forces on the verge of wiping out Pakistani terrorists in Valley Terrorist involved in terrorising Pandits in Valley gunned down Mubin did it in Coimbatore: Why do Islamist terrorists shave their body before a suicide mission DGP Kerala orders FIR against The Kerala Story after TN journalist forwards complaint to CM Manipur: Two jawans injured as terrorists ambush 4 Assam Regiment in Chandel India oi-Madhuri Terrorists ambushed 4 Assam Regiment in Chandel's Sajik Tampak in Manipur on Wednesday. While the encounter between security forces and terrorists is underway, a terrorist has been killed in the exchange of fire. Two jawans were also injured in the firing. The terrorist is believed to be affiliated to the Revolutionary People's Front (RPF). An AK series assault rifle and two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) were also recovered by the secutiy forces. No outfit has claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack comes a day after two Assam Rifles jawans were killed and six others injured when a powerful bomb exploded early Monday morning in Chandel district. The banned insurgent outfit Revolutionary Peoples Front (RPF) had claimed responsibility for the attack. OneIndia News SAsia economic summit makes renewed regional integration call The 10th edition of South Asia Economic Summit kicked off in Kathmandu on Tuesday with renewed calls for rapid development of physical infrastructure and removal of non-tariff barriers to expedite regional integration. Meet Suyash Dixit who declared himself as King of no mans land in Egypt International oi-Madhuri Recommended Video Indian man travels to Sudan and became king of unclaimed land | Oneindia News Suyash Dixit from Indore in Madhya Pradesh has declared himself the ruler of an unclaimed 2,000 sq km area of a land between Egypt and Sudan. This didn't end here, he even urged people to apply for a citizenship. "I, Suyash Dixit, first of my name and the protector of the realm, declare myself as the king of "Kingdom of Dixit". I call myself, King Suyash First from today. I declare this unclaimed land of Bir Tawil as my country from now to the eternity of time," the CEO at Softinator wrote on Facebook. Read the full Facebook post here: Dixit has also filed an online petition to the United Nations asking for recognition of his claim and interestingly, more than 800 people have supported the petition. Dixit learnt about this unclaimed land, Bir Tawil when he was travelling for a conference in Cairo. The area hasn't been inhabited by anyone since 1902 because of a complicated colonial-era border demarcation history and its arid conditions. However, this isn't the first time. Earlier in 2014, an American had travelled to the desert land to make his daughter a princess of the 'Kingdom of North Sudan'. OneIndia News Ram temple issue: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar meets UP CM Yogi Adityanath India oi-Madhuri Spiritual leader and Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravishankar met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath at his residence in Lucknow on Wednesday. This comes as the spiritual leader has ramped up his efforts to mediate in the Ram Mandir- Babri Masjid dispute and has asserted that he would meet "all stakeholders" to resolve the matter. Earlier on Tuesday, Sri Sri had told reporters that he would pay a courtesy visit to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister. "It was out of my own will that I was involved as a mediator in Ram Temple issue," the spiritual guru said. Congress had dubbed Sri Sri as a "government agent". Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan had said the Supreme Court made it very clear that a settlement was possible, but he asked to who had appointed people like the Art of Living Foundation chief to take charge. Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) voiced doubts over Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's efforts to resolve the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute in Uttar Pradesh and said he would not succeed in his mission. OneIndia News The sweet battle continues with Odisha Government now planning to obtain GI for Odishara Rasagolla India oi-Amitava By Amitava The battle over the Rosogolla is not yet rested with the Government of Odisha planning to obtain a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for "Odishara Rasagolla." The Government of Odisha claims that the GI obtained by West Bengal is for "Banglar Rosogolla" that is specific to West Bengal only. On November 14, the State of West Bengal was accorded the GI tag for the iconic sweet Rosogolla. As Bengal celebrated the victory, at around 9:56 pm on the same day, a tweet from the @CMO_Odisha (The Chief Minister's Office, Odisha) stated "Odisha Government is in process of obtaining GI tag for Odishara Rasagolla. It originated in #Odisha and is offered at Jagannath Temple as part of religious rituals by people of Odisha for centuries." A press note issued by the Government of Odisha, on similar lines, stated "Rasagolla, which originated in Odisha, has been offered at Jagannath Temple in Puri as part of religious rituals since the 12th century by the Odias. It has come to our notice that Banglar Rasagolla has been registered with Geographical Indication (GI) on an application filed by Government of West Bengal. This only provides GI tag to the Banglar Rosogolla specific to West Bengal. The government of Odisha is in the process of obtaining GI for Odishara Rasagolla which dates back to more than 800 years." A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. In order to function as a GI, a sign must identify a product as originating in a given place. It has been a long tug of war with both the states locking horns over the origin of the iconic sweet. In 2015 Odisha's Science and Technology Minister Pradip Kumar Panigrahi told media that committees had been set up to trace the origin of the sweet. He had stated that there is conclusive evidence that Rosogolla has existed in the state for about 600 years. Odisha claimed that 'Rasagolla' originated in Puri. Its ancestor was 'Kheer Mohana', which later evolved as 'Pahala Rasagolla'. The West Bengal government fell back on 19-century history to claim Rosogolla was invented by Nabin Chandra Das, a famous sweetmeat maker based in Baagbazar in North Kolkata in 1868. OneIndia News Madrasa survey in UP complete, next up is meeting with government: Minister Post COVID-19 Uttar Pradesh adds most number of new companies Forcible conversion: 19 year old Nidhi pushed to death by Mohammad Sufiyan in UP UP civic polls: Congress releases vision document 'Haq Purti Patra' India pti-PTI The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday released its vision document, with focus on strong rural and urban bodies, for the upcoming local body elections. "The vision document Haq Purti Patra has its orgin in the principles of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi," UPCC chief Raj Babbar told reporters. "The document has been prepared according to his vision of ... Strong rural and urban bodies which remains unfulfilled," he said. He said the Congress prepared the Haq Purti Patra in consultation with the people and keeping in view their problems. "We have not made tall claims or shown them big dreams. We have talked about what can be done for the betterment of urban bodies," Babbar said. Replying to a question on Lord Rama versus development, he said: "Today, Lord Rama's name is being used to frighten people." In a vieled attack on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he said: "A thousand children would not have died in a government hospital in Gorakhpur if those who talk about Lord Rama had followed him." The Haq Purti Patra raises the issue of hygiene and potable water. It discusses a 25-year workplan for the urban population and community centres for the poor in all wards. A review of increased house and water taxes and issues concerning street vendors also find a place in the Congress vision document. PTI Who is Cornelia Sorabji, today's Google Doodle India oi-Vicky By Vicky Today's Google Doodle is Cornelia Sorabji. She was the first woman to read law at the Oxford University. Born in Nashik, she was one of nine children of Reverend Sorabji Karsedji and his wife, Francina Ford, who had been adopted and raised by a British couple. Her father was a missionary and Sorabji claims that he was a key figure in convincing Bombay University to admit women to their degree programs. Cornelia Sorabji had five surviving sisters and a brother, and two more brothers that died in infancy. She spent her childhood initially in Belgaum and later in Pune. She received her education both at home and at mission schools. She enrolled in Deccan College and claims to have topped the Presidency in her final degree examination, which would have entitled her to a government scholarship to study further in England. According to Sorabji, she was denied the scholarship, and instead took up a temporary position as a professor of English at a men's college in Gujarat. After becoming the first female graduate of Bombay University, Sorabji wrote in 1888 to the National Indian Association for assistance in completing her education. OneIndia News PM Modi was right when he said this is not time for war: Macron's message to Russia on Ukraine war PM Modi holds brief discussion with French President at the start of G20 Summit in Bali France's President Emmanuel Macron to visit India in early 2018 International oi-Deepika By Deepika France's President Emmanuel Macron will attend a summit to launch a solar power alliance in India in early 2018. It would make his first visit to India since he took office on May 7 to take part in the meeting. There will be discussions on economic, strategic, smart cities, renewable energy, and other aspects," Ziegler told reporters on the sidelines of an event to announce the commencement of direct flights to Paris from Chennai by Jet Airways this month. The French President's office added the alliance that wins the support of more than 100 solar-rich countries "is fully in line with the efforts of France and India to achieve the objectives set by the Paris Agreement on Climate Change". The international meeting will see the "founding ceremony" of the International Solar Alliance which is to have its headquarters in India. The solar alliance, to promote the global use of solar power, was proposed by PM Modi ahead of the 2015 Paris climate conference. More than 100 countries are backing the alliance, which aims to set international standards and support research and development. OneIndia News Myanmar sanctions 'not advisable' at this time: Tillerson International pti-PTI US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Wednesday that levying sanctions against Myanmar over the Rohingya crisis was "not advisable" at this time, following a meeting with the country's army and civilian leaders. "Sanctions are not advisable at this time," Washington's top diplomat said at a press briefing in the capital Naypyidaw. "We want to see Myanmar succeed... I have a hard time seeing how that (sanctions) helps resolve this crisis," he added. More than 600,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since late August, driven out by a Myanmar military counter-insurgency clearance operation in Rakhine State that a top UN official has described as a textbook case of "ethnic cleansing". "Scenes of what occurred are just horrific," Tillerson said. Human rights groups have branded as a "whitewash" the military's internal investigation into those allegations, after its findings were posted this week on the Facebook page of the army chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. Arriving in the Myanmar capital Naypyitaw, Tillerson went straight to see Min Aung Hlaing before a separate meeting with Suu Kyi. Tillerson and Suu Kyi had met on Tuesday during an Asian summit in the Philippines, where the Nobel peace prize winner sought to explain her government's efforts to resolve the crisis and its plans for the eventual voluntary repatriation of Rohingya. A senior US State Department official travelling with Tillerson told journalists on Tuesday the secretary would tell the army chief that peace and stability needed to be restored to northern Rakhine so that Rohingya refugees could return home. PTI 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 Rohingya issue fails to find a foothold in the ASEAN summit International oi-Amitava By Amitava Contrary to anticipations, the Rohingya issue failed to find a foothold in the two-day long ASEAN summit in the Philippines. However, the de facto leader of Myanmar has agreed to accept humanitarian assistance for the Rohingyas. Incidentally the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a regional intergovernmental organization set up on 10 Southeast Asian nations on August 8, 1967. The main objective of ASEAN is to promote pan-Asianism, cooperation, and facilities among the member countries. The 10 countries include Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Brunei. The 31st ASEAN Summit was held in Manila, the Philippines on November 13 and 14 attended by the representatives of member countries. Spokesperson of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, the summit Chairman claimed that Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar has agreed to accept aid for the Rohingyas. Earlier the country was accused of not allowing aid. The Spokesperson further claimed that only two of the representatives had raised the Rohingya issue in the plenary meeting on Monday. Suu Kyi reportedly pacified them with the assurance that her Government is addressing the problem. Even Chairman Duterte in the "Chairman's Statement" labeled the Rohingya crisis as "a matter of disaster resiliency." The issue found mention as a single phrase in the 26-page document (Chairman's Statement.) The sentence read "We.... Extend appreciation for the prompt response in the delivering of relief items for Northern Vietnam flash floods and landslide victims, the displaced communities in Marawi City, Philippines as well as the affected communities in Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar." The Rohingyas are an ethnic group, the majority belonging to the Muslim faith, who have lived for centuries in Myanmar. Currently, there are about 1.1 million Rohingya who lives in the predominantly Buddhist country. The Rohingya speak the unique Ruaingga dialect but are not considered one of Myanmar's 135 official ethnic groups. They have been denied citizenship in Myanmar since 1982. This has rendered the Rohingya's stateless. Nearly all of the Rohingyas in Myanmar live in the western coastal state of Rakhine in camps. Time and again there have been allegations of Myanmar embarking on ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya's which the country has denied. Following an attack on the police posts and an army base in Myanmar on August 25 that left 12 officers dead, the Myanmar military has imposed a crackdown on the Rohingya population which they have dubbed a clearance operation against an insurgent terrorist group. Due to ongoing violence and persecution, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled to neighbouring countries either by land or boat. UNICEF figures claim that out of the 600,000 Rohingyas who fled from Myanmar nearly 3,40,000 are children. Reports further claim that each week around 12000 Rohingya children pours into Bangladesh already reeling from the crisis. OneIndia News Blast at Zimbabwe presidents rally ahead of July 30 election; many injured Zimbabwe: More than 150 children dead in measles outbreak Why is 'Mr. Bean controversy trending on Twitter after Zimbabwe beat Pakistan? Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe detained as military take over Harare International oi-Madhuri Three explosions were heard in Zimbabwe's capital Harare on Wednesday as military vehicles were seen in streets. The explosion comes after an army commander threatened to step in to calm political tensions over 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe's possible successor. According to eyewitnesses, gunfire erupted near Mugabe's private residence in Harare in the early hours of Wednesday. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party accused army chief General Constantino Chiwenga on Tuesday of "treasonable conduct". The public dispute has presented a major test for Mugabe, who is in increasingly frail health. Chiwenga had demanded that Mugabe stop purges of senior party figures, including vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was dismissed last week. ZANU-PF said Chiwenga's stance was "clearly calculated to disturb national peace... and suggests treasonable conduct on his part as this was meant to incite insurrection". The US embassy in Zimbabwe has told American citizens in the country to 'shelter in place'. The UK embassy in Harare also urged its citizens in the country to stay indoor during the uncertain situation. Tensions have been building in Zimbabwe since Emmerson Mnangagwa, a powerful figure in the ruling Zanu-PF party, fled to South Africa last week. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe army said once mission accomplished, 'situation will return to normalcy'. Zimbabwean soldiers and armoured vehicles have blocked roads to the main government offices, parliament and the courts in central Harare. OneIndia News Zimbabwe crisis: UK urges restraint, voices cautious hope International pti-PTI London, Nov 15: Britain on Wednesday urged all sides in Zimbabwe to refrain from violence after the military took control of the country, but said it was "potentially a moment of hope". "We have all seen what has been taking place in Harare. We are monitoring those developments very carefully," Prime Minister Theresa May told MPs. "The situation is still fluid, and we would urge restraint on all sides because we want to see and we would call for an avoidance of violence," she added. She said the primary concern of Britain, the formal colonial power, was for the safety of about 20,000 of its nationals who live in Zimbabwe. The government changed its travel advice today, urging Britons in Harare "to remain safely at home or in their accommodation until the situation becomes clearer". Zimbabwe's military is in control of the country and President Robert Mugabe, in a conversation reported by South African President Jacob Zuma, has said he is under house arrest. But generals have denied staging a coup. Answering an urgent question on the situation in the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged caution in predicting how the situation will unfold. "We do not know whether this marks the downfall of Mugabe or not, and we call for calm and restraint," he said. But he added: "I think this is potentially a moment of hope. Lots of people in this country will be looking at it in that sense. We must make sure we don't jump the gun, that we aren't premature, and that's why I've been cautious with the House today." Johnson said he would be talking to the deputy president of South Africa later today about the response of the international community. He said he is also going to the European Union and the African Union (AU) summit later this month, where Zimbabwe was now likely to be a priority. "All Britain has ever wanted for Zimbabweans is to be able to decide their own future in free and fair elections," he said. "Mugabe's consuming ambition was always to deny them this right. Britain has always wanted the Zimbabwean people to be masters of their fate and for any political change to be peaceful, lawful and constitutional." Mugabe was once heralded as a liberator who rid the former British colony Rhodesia of white minority rule, but was soon cast in the role of a despot who crushed political dissent and ruined the economy. PTI Tales of the far west The focus is on marginalised groups as they contain a large number of swing voters From Consortium News Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall, Dec. 6, 2016. (Image by (Photo by Robert Parry)) Details DMCA A stark difference between today's Washington and when I was here as a young Associated Press correspondent in the late 1970s and the early 1980s is that then -- even as the old Cold War was heating up around the election of Ronald Reagan -- there were prominent mainstream journalists who looked askance at the excessive demonization of the Soviet Union and doubted wild claims about the dire threats to U.S. national security from Nicaragua and Grenada. Perhaps the Vietnam War was still fresh enough in people's minds that senior editors and national reporters understood the dangers of mindless groupthink inside Official Washington, as well as the importance of healthy skepticism toward official pronouncements from the U.S. intelligence community. Today, however, I cannot think of a single prominent figure in the mainstream news media who questions any claim -- no matter how unlikely or absurd -- that vilifies Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country. It is all Russia-bashing all the time. And, behind this disturbing anti-Russian uniformity are increasing assaults against independent and dissident journalists and news outlets outside the mainstream. We're not just entering a New Cold War and a New McCarthyism; we're also getting a heavy dose of old-style Orwellianism. Sometimes you see this in individual acts like HuffingtonPost taking down a well-reported story by journalist Joe Lauria because he dared to point out that Democratic money financed the two initial elements of what's now known as Russia-gate: the forensic examination of computers at the Democratic National Committee and the opposition research on Donald Trump conducted by ex-British spy Christopher Steele. HuffingtonPost never contacted Lauria before or after its decision to retract the story, despite a request from him for the reasons why. HuffPost editors told a BuzzFeed reporter that they were responding to reader complaints that the article was filled with factual errors but none have ever been spelled out, leaving little doubt that Lauria's real "error" was in defying the Russia-gate groupthink of the anti-Trump Resistance. [A version of Lauria's story appeared at Consortiumnews.com before Lauria posted it at HuffPost. If you want to sign a petition calling on HuffPost to restore Lauria's article, click here.] Muzzling RT Other times, the expanding American censorship is driven by U.S. government agencies, such as the Justice Department's demand that the Russian news outlet, RT, register under the restrictive Foreign Agent Registration Act, which requires such prompt, frequent and detailed disclosures of supposed "propaganda" that it could make it impossible for RT to continue to function in the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin, following his address to the UN General Assembly on Sept. 28, 2015. (Image by (UN Photo)) Details DMCA This attack on RT was rationalized by the Jan. 6 "Intelligence Community Assessment" that was, in reality, prepared by a handful of "hand-picked" analysts from the CIA, FBI and National Security Agency. Their report included a seven-page addendum from 2012 accusing RT of spreading Russian propaganda -- and apparently this Jan. 6 report must now be accepted as gospel truth, no questions permitted. However, if any real journalist actually read the Jan. 6 report, he or she would have discovered that RT's sinister assault on American democracy included such offenses as holding a debate among third-party candidates who were excluded from the Republican-Democratic debates in 2012. Yes, allowing Libertarians and Greens to express their points of view is a grave danger to American democracy. Other RT "propaganda" included reporting on the Occupy Wall Street protests and examining the environmental dangers from "fracking," issues that also have been widely covered by the domestic American media. Apparently, whenever RT covers a newsworthy event -- even if others have too -- that constitutes "propaganda," which must be throttled to protect the American people from the danger of seeing it. If you bother to study the Jan. 6 report's addendum, it is hard not to conclude that these "hand-picked" analysts were either stark-raving mad or madly anti-Russian. Yet, this "Intelligence Community Assessment" is now beyond questioning unless you want to be labeled a "Kremlin stooge" or "Putin's useful idiot." [An earlier State Department attack on RT was equally ridiculous or demonstrably false.] And, by the way, it was President Obama's Director of National Intelligence James Clapper who testified under oath that the analysts from the three agencies were "hand-picked." That means that they were analysts personally selected by Obama's intelligence chiefs from three agencies -- not "all 17" as the American public was told over and over again -- and thus were not even a full representation of analysts from those three agencies. Yet, this subset of a subset is routinely described as "the U.S. intelligence community," even after major news outlets finally had to retract their "all 17" canard. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121 "In Bottom-Up, Rob Kall offers important insights on why our society is in such disarray and what we must do to change it. He demonstrates how "top down" thinking is what has produced our current mess, and how bottom up thinking is much more efficient for solving problems and producing change. Rob shows how lasting change must come from the people themselves and not from the leaders. This was as true in the days of the Magna Carta as it was for the Bill of Rights as it was for the Union movement that first gave workers' rights and protection in this country, as it is today. Indigenous elders have told me, "if you want to change the world, start talking and keep talking." Rob is doing this with this book and with his OpEdNews, and he is making a difference. I recommend this book to all who wish to see lasting, human-friendly, compassionate change that will sustain humanity is this crazy world of today." Lewis Mehl-Madrona, MD, author of the Coyote trilogy that discusses healing practices from Lakota, Cherokee, and Cree traditions and how they intersect with conventional medicine The San Francisco-based 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Monday (November 13) allowed President Donald Trump's Muslim travel ban 3.0 to go partially into effect, exempting persons with 'bona fide relationships' to the US. The Monday order means the ban will apply to people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad who do not have connections to the United States. Those connections are defined as family relationships and "formal, documented" relationships with U.S.-based entities such as universities and resettlement agencies. Those with family relationships that would allow entry include grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins of people in the United States. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overrode US District Judge Derrick Watson of Hawaii, who blocked the ban on October 17 by declaring it violates immigration law by discriminating on the basis of nationality. President Trump issued an executive order on September 24 indefinitely restricting travel to the US for citizens from eight countries: Somalia, Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, North Korea, Venezuela and Chad. Judge Watson ordered a block of the order on October 17. He was joined by US District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland, who sought to block the policy on grounds of Constitutional prohibitions against religious discrimination. Chuang's ruling still needs to be addressed by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. The Richmond, Virginia-based court has scheduled a full-bench hearing for December 8. Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin said the court's decision tracked what the Supreme Court said in June when it partially revived Trump's second travel ban, which has now expired. "I'm pleased that family ties to the U.S., including grandparents, will be respected," Chin added. Separately on Monday, a group of refugee organizations and individuals filed a lawsuit in Seattle federal court challenging Trump's decision to suspend entry of refugees from 11 countries, nine of which are majority Muslim, for at least 90 days. In a parallel case from Maryland, a judge had also ruled against the Trump administration and partially blocked the ban from going into effect. The Maryland case was brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents several advocacy groups, including the International Refugee Assistance Project. The Muslim Ban 3.0 The September 24 executive order is the third travel ban to come out of the White House since January. Trump has justified the decision by citing security requirements and lack of proper information-sharing and vetting procedures in the countries affected. The Trump administration had unveiled its third travel ban after US courts blocked the first two. This order bans citizens of North Korea, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela and Chad from travelling to the US. However, a court in Hawaii had blocked the latest directive on October 18, just hours before it was set to go into full effect. Critics, however, pointed to Trump's campaign trail proposal to enact "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." Several individual plaintiffs, refugee resettlement organizations, human-rights groups and a number of states with Democratic attorneys-general have challenged the travel bans from the beginning, arguing that Trump's campaign statement disqualifies him from barring Muslims from entering the US. Muslim Ban 1.0 Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Cipro is a popular broad-based spectrum antibiotic widely used by many doctors to treat bacterial infections like sinus infections, uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and bronchitis. It is part of the fluoroquinolones(FQ) family that includes generic ciprofloxacin (Cipro), gemifloxacin (Factive), levofloxacin (Levaquin), moxifloxacin (Avelox), norfloxacin (Noroxin), and ofloxacin (Flexing). In Jay S Cohen, MD book, How We Can Halt the CIPRO and LEVAQUIN Catastrophe -- The Worst Medication Disaster in U.S. History, states "indiscriminate prescribing highly potent "big gun" antibiotics for everyday minor infections such as sinusitis, sore throats, or bladder infections is unnecessary and medically unsafe. Antibiotics such as penicillin prevent bacteria from multiplying until they die. FQs kill bacteria outright. Drugs designed to injure the genetic structure of bacteria and thereby kill them. Further study needs to be undertaken to ensure that FQs did not also injure human DNA. Strains of many bacteria now resistant to antibiotics, including FQs are emerging at a rapid pace." What many doctors and patients don't know is that the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has issued many warning and communications about Cipro since 2008 up until 2016. These warnings have progressively added more side effects and suggested restricted use. In 2008, the FDA required a boxed warning, the most serious type of warning, to be added to the medication package inserts available at pharmacies, alerting patients of the risk of tendon damage and rupture. Tendons are tough cords of tissue that connects muscles to bones. The FDA acknowledged in its upgraded warning on FQs in 2008 that "Fluoroquinolones exert a toxic effect not only on tendons but also on cartilage, bone and muscle" (referenced Physicians' Desk Reference, 62nd ed. (Montvale, NJ: Medical Economics Company, 2008). Because of the risk of worsening symptoms for those with myasthenia gravis (a disease that weakens muscles) the FDA added this to the Boxed Warning in August 2013. In Cohen's book, he mentions a woman died after taking one pill. Her medical chart had reference to her myasthenia gravis that was overlooked by her doctor. In 2013, the FDA released a new warning, reports Cohen, about peripheral neuropathies: If a patient develops symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, the fluoroquinolones should be stopped. and the patient should be switched to another non- fluoroquinolone antibacterial drug unless the benefit of continued treatment with a fluoroquinolone outweighs the risk. Peripheral neuropathy is a nerve disorder occurring in the arms and the legs. Symptoms include pain, burning, tingling, numbness, weakness, or a change in sensation to light touch, pain, or temperature, or the sense of body position. It can occur at any time during treatment with a fluoroquinolone and can last for months to years after the drug is stopped or may be permanent. Patients using fluoroquinolone who develop systems of peripheral neuropathy should tell their healthcare professional right away. Lindsey R. Baden, M.D., an infectious disease physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, and a member of the November 2015 FDA panel. "Fluoroquinolones play an important role in treating serious infections such as those caused by bacteria that are resistant to other types of antibiotics," says Baden. But in the case of less severe illnesses such as a mild bacterial sinus infection or uncomplicated bladder infection, the drugs "should typically be reserved for second-line or even third-line treatment after other antibiotics have failed," says Baden. May 12, 2016, the FDA drug safety communication advised that fluoroquinolones should be reserved for these conditions only when there are no other options available due to potentially permanent, disabling side effects occurring together. The drug safety communication also announced the required labeling updates to reflect this new safety information. On Apr 24, 2017, the FDA studied 4,916 people who had taken Cipro. This comprehensive report included most common side effects over time from https://www.ehealthme.com/drug/cipro/side-effects/#print , pain, weight decreased, urinary tract infection, tendonitis, renal failure acute (a condition in which the kidneys are suddenly unable to filter and eliminate waste from the blood, as stated by Mayo Clinic), hives, weight decreased, vomiting, fever, rhabdomyolysis (a serious syndrome due to a direct or indirect muscle injury. It results from the death of muscle fibers and release of their contents into the bloodstream. This can lead to serious complications such as renal (kidney) failure. (This means the kidneys cannot remove waste and concentrated urine). .webmd.com "- A to Z Guides "- Reference, tremor and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). .ehealthme.com/drug/cipro/side-effects/#print It's unlikely you get an accurate description of FQ's toxicities from most doctors or pharmacist. Cipro's side effects are indiscriminate- there's no prediction to whom will be affected. Patients appreciate doctors who listen to them, treat them as intelligent human beings and don't dismiss them out of hand. (Article changed on November 15, 2017 at 23:05) From Reader Supported News Former secretary of state John Kerry waded into the controversy between Saudi Arabia and Qatar during a speech last week at the UK's Chatham House, coming down solidly on the side of the Saudis. Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman has led a blockade of Qatar for the past several months, accusing his neighbor of supporting terrorist movements around the country and seeking to improve relations with Iran, a move that is somehow considered to be "dangerous" by the heavily-armed and well-trained Saudi military. Kerry's comments were supposed to show support for Saudi political reform. Instead, he embarrassed himself by endorsing authoritarianism and showing an utter lack of understanding of Middle Eastern politics. Kerry told his audience, "I have great respect, frankly, for what the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and King Salman are trying to do to move Saudi Arabia into modernity. It's a huge lift, folks, a huge challenge to try to change those societies. Together with the Emiratis and others, they are taking a very firm stand against extremism that in its duplicitous form has been allowed to play a game out there." He added, "That's part of what this challenge with Qatar is about. It's not just about two nations in the region squabbling. It's about this bigger vision of where we are going and whether we are going to stop extremism." He made no mention whatsoever of the fact that 15 of the 19 September 11 hijackers were Saudis, nor did he discuss the fact that the Saudis have long supported Sunni extremist groups around the world. Kerry's comments could not have been any more misguided. First, Saudi Arabia's fight with Qatar goes back decades, ever since former Qatari emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani decided to bring his tiny peninsular nation into the 21st century, and it has nothing to do with stopping extremism. Hamad decided that Qatar would be better off making its own way internationally. He began spending Qatar's vast natural gas wealth to develop the country, making it an economic competitor with Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and to chart an independent foreign policy. Qatar would no longer tow the Saudi line, especially on Iran. Hamad thought it better to negotiate with the Iranians, to trade with them, and to open diplomatic relations. The Saudis did not approve. The Qatari establishment of the Aljazeera television news network, which routinely criticizes Saudi Arabia, ensured a generation of poor relations with Riyadh. Kerry isn't wrong solely for pandering to the Saudis. His comments instead show two things: a fundamental misunderstanding of Saudi Arabia, its policies, and its internal politics; and a knee-jerk neoliberalism. Kerry is the same person who voted, when he was a US senator, for the war against Iraq, the same person who supported a never-ending war in Afghanistan, and the same person who voted consistently for what has become a permanent US military and intelligence presence in Pakistan. This "great thinker" of US foreign policy doesn't understand foreign policy at all. What we're seeing in Saudi Arabia today is not an attempt to bring the country into modernity, nor is it enactment of a new anti-corruption policy, as the Saudis have claimed. Instead, it's a coup. Muhammad bin Salman, the king's son, deposed his cousin, Muhammad bin Nayif, and immediately began to put his personal imprimatur on the kingdom. He has overseen Saudi Arabia's war against Yemen, a conflict that has resulted in what just about anybody would call genocide. He has disrupted Lebanese politics by apparently luring that country's prime minister to Riyadh and having him resign on Saudi television. He has supported Sunni extremist groups fighting against the Assad government in Syria. And he has rounded up and placed under house arrest as many as 2,000 of his subjects, including senior Saudi princes, current and former cabinet ministers, and leading businessmen -- essentially anybody who might oppose him in the future. (The rumor here in Washington is that King Salman will abdicate in Muhammad's favor soon after the new year.) Oh, and Muhammad announced that next year women will be allowed to drive, the "modernization" that apparently attracted the attention and support of John Kerry. I worked for John Kerry on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for two-and-a-half years. He was absolutely obsessed with his legacy. Once, during a committee hearing, he turned in his chair and handed me a note saying, "Can you get me a map of Somalia?" I went into the anteroom and got him his map. I then tossed the note in a nearby trash can. Two hours later I received a call from his personal office. "What did you do with the senator's note?" "What note?" I asked. "He handed you a note during the hearing. What did you do with it?" "I threw it in the trash," I responded. "He just asked me for a map of Somalia." "Well," the aide said, "we need that note. We have to send it to the University of Massachusetts as part of his archives." The only response I could come up with was, "You're kidding, right?" "No," was the response. "It's in case a future PhD candidate needs to see it for research. All researchers need to know what kind of senator he was." Legacy or no, the problem is that, after decades in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and after four years as Secretary of State, Kerry can't spot an authoritarian takeover, a soft coup, when he sees it. Or perhaps he supports it. I don't know. But his comments at Chatham House certainly fit in well with his neoliberal pro-war personal ideology. Let's see what he says about the Saudis when the war with Iran finally breaks out. That's the Saudis' end game, after all. Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News. In Part 1 of this two-part series (click here), after an introduction about the setting for the October 25 Revolution of 1917 (November 7, 1917 on the "new," Gregorian, Calendar), I noted that for the entire 75 years of its existence, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics faced what can be called "The 75 Years War Against the Soviet Union." In Part 1, I very briefly reviewed that setting and what has happened to the development of socialism world-wide in the past 100 years. I also listed many of the major historical events which, ranging from diplomatic and economic isolation, to a refusal to join together to confront a common enemy, to continuing decades-long overt and covert pressure for "regime change" (finally achieved at the end of the War), to open military attack and engagement, taken together made up the War. In this Part 2 I discuss each one of those events in a bit of detail. Of course, as I noted, a full treatment would require much more space than we have on OpEdNews. Indeed, a book could well be written on the subject. But this can be considered a start on a subject which has been widely ignored. However, in my view it has to be taken into account in any accounting of what happened in and to that great socio-historical experiment known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Major Elements of the 75 Years War : 1. What has been called "The Intervention," on the side of the "White Russian" resistance to the Red Revolution, began almost immediately after its initial success in overthrowing the Provisional Government. It was an armed counter-revolution led by the principal capitalist/imperialist power of the time, Great Britain. Winston Churchill was a leading promoter of the Intervention. Among the other nations involved were the United States, Japan, Romania, China, Greece, Serbia, Italy, and Canada. 2. After the end of the Russian Civil War in 1921 (and the withdrawal from Soviet territory of the Intervening nations), the Western Powers were slow to recognize the Soviet government. The United States was the last to do so, in 1933. 3. As the Nazi threats to peace in Europe developed in the mid-1930s, the Soviet Union offered on a number of occasion to negotiate an anti-Nazi pact, primarily with the two major Western powers, France and Great Britain. They consistently refused. Indeed, in both countries there was considerable pro-Nazi political sentiment. 4. The "non-intervention" policy of the "Western Democracies" (including the United States) in the Spanish Civil War made the continuing anti-Soviet policy clear. One major factor in these Western powers' refusal even to send arms to the Spanish Republican government was that the Spanish Communist Party was a significant component of the governing coalition of the Spanish Republic. Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany not only sent weapons but also fought on the side of the Spanish fascist rebellion. The Soviet Union played a limited role in supplying arms to the Republic. 5. Then came Munich . With Nazi Germany threatening to invade Czechoslovakia the Soviet Union offered military assistance to the Czechs, as well as the British and the French, in order to thwart the invasion. In fact, the Red Force was warming up on airfields just across the Czech border, ready to fly to the aid of the Czech army. But for Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Great Britain, it was more important to keep Hitler pointing east, towards the Soviet Union, a declared enemy from the time of Mein Kampf --- the famous "Drang Nach Osten" --- than it was to save the Czechs from the Nazis. After vainly trying, on numerous occasions, to get the British and the French to sign a joint defense pact against Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union finally gave up. With the signing of the "Nazi-Soviet pact" on August 25, 1939, they bought time against what they knew was eventually going to come from the Nazis. 6. The Nazi invasion --- Operation Barbarossa --- was launched on June 22, 1941. It was the only "hot" component of The 75 Years War. 7. The delay by the United States and Great Britain in opening of the Second Front in France on June 6, 1944, was interpreted by some as being content to let the Soviet Union bleed, especially after it had won what came to be recognized as the turning point of the Second World War, victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, on February 2, 1943. In the course of the War, all told, the Soviet Union lost between 25 and 27 million dead, military and civilian. Total U.S. military casualties in World War II amounted to about 400,000. 8. There are claims that a resumption of anti-Soviet military policy was under development before WWII was over. On the fringe of such an attempt, it was well-known that when the right-wing U.S. General George Patton captured large numbers of German troops on the Southern flank of the U.S. front, thinking that his army, with them, might keep going East, he first had them stack their weapons rather turning them over for disposal. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower put an end to that maneuver as soon as he heard of it. 9. The atomic bombing of Japan was not necessary for the US to win there. A major factor was the aim of U.S. policy to keep the Soviet Union a) out of Japan and b) from enabling the Korean Resistance to take over the whole peninsula from the Japanese occupiers. As World War II was coming to a close, the Soviet Union was poised to invade Japan and its then colonial possession, Korea, on August 8, 1945. One motivation for the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9) was to foreclose the possibility that the Red Army would establish a foothold on Japanese territory (the first landings were to be on the northernmost Japanese island of Hokkaido) and would quickly take over the whole of the Korean Peninsula. 10. Stalin wanted peaceful co-existence, to occur after the end of World War II (see Chap. 10 of Stalin's Wars, by Geoffrey Roberts, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2006). The Western Powers would have none of it. 11. In the immediate post-war period, there was interference by the Western powers to prevent the development of pro-Soviet governments in the non-Soviet sphere of influence in Europe: U.S. interference in Italian election in 1948, and British intervention in the Greek civil war. (The Communists there had borne the brunt of the guerilla war waged during the Nazi occupation and wanted their rightful place in the post-war government. Denied that, war broke out.) 12. Churchill's famous "Iron Curtain" speech of March 5, 1946, just 6 months after the conclusion of the Second World War, with the surrender of Japan, has always been shaped by the Western powers as describing something that the Soviet Union under Stalin had done. Since Stalin was still hoping for the establishment of peaceful co-existence between the Soviet Union and the Western Powers, that speech was really the opening major salvo --- from the Western side --- in what became the "Cold War," the continuation of what became the 75 Years War that lasted until the final collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992. 13. U.S. policy Western Europe confirmed for the USSR that the Cold War was fully underway: unilateral German currency reform; setting up the German Federal Republic; the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 14. The Hungarian Uprising of 1956 is always presented in the West as failed revolt by democratic forces against the communist government of Hungary. From the perspective of the Hungarian Communist side, however, the picture was rather different ( The Truth About Hungary: Facts and Eyewitness Accounts , Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1957). From that perspective, it was a neo-fascist revolt by the forces that had ruled Hungary from 1919 to 1945 (first under the world's first fascist dictator, Admiral Miklos Horthy, at the end under the even-more vicious Arrow Cross, who were hanging known communists from street lamps in downtown Budapest). That had to be put down, even it meant calling in Soviet tanks. 15. The "Cuban-Missile Crisis:" See Appendix I. 16. In the late 1970s, there was a secular revolt in Afghanistan and free elections were held for the first time. The Communist candidate, with Soviet backing (in this strategically-located, neighboring country), was elected. He proved to be not a very effective leader. And the so the Soviets promoted a replacement for him, provoking a certain amount of unrest. Led by his notoriously anti-Soviet National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brzezinski, U.S. President Jimmy Carter determined to begin providing major support for a wide variety of anti-Communist or just anti-government Afghani as well as foreign forces (one group of fundamentalist Saudis was led by the future famous Osama bin Laden). Brzezinski famously said: "we can give them their Viet Nam." And they did. It turned out to be one of the last phases of the 75 Years War. 17. All of this, and many other events of the Cold War, lead to the Reaganite Final Arms Race of the 1980s, which in the end spent the Soviet Union into the ground, and collapse. The ultimate aim of Western Imperialism, the destruction of the Soviet Union was achieved. Of course, Russia has remained in place, and still functions to some extent as a rival to Western Imperialism. But it is in the form of a "clash of capitalisms," nothing like that grand Soviet historical experiment, aiming to replace capitalism with socialism. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Appendix I: The Cuban "Missile Crisis" The untold story of the "Cuban Missile Crisis" was another one of those "buried stories" that litter American history when they are inconvenient truths. In the summer of 1962 I happened to be doing part of my internship at a hospital in Western New Jersey. For a time I dated a nurse who happened to have a brother who was captain in the United States Army. When he was home on leave during that summer I happened to spend some time with him. He was hardly political and seemed very happy to be in the Army. I asked what he did and he told me "oh, we are getting ready to invade Cuba," just like that. Very matter of fact. Sort of like Sunday in the Park with George. All up and down the East Coast, he told me, a major invasion force was being assembled. If Kennedy was going to invade Cuba he was going to do it following an earlier version of the Powell Doctrine. No half-baked venture like the totally ill-planned Bay of Pigs fiasco. He was going to hit hard, (just like his father advised FDR not to do in the face of the Hitlerian threat, right up until Pearl Harbor, by which time he was gone). This was well before there was any "crisis," well before there was any public notice of the situation. When the "crisis" did occur, it was obvious to me at the time, that what had happened was that the Soviet Union and Cuba had gotten wind of the very real and major invasion threat, had at Castro's request demanded that the US stand down, that the US did not, that Khrushchev then sent the missiles in the direction of Cuba probably never intending to actually set them up there. By so doing he did achieve his goal, and of course Castro's, of aborting the US invasion. That is, they won. Neither Cuba nor the USSR cared a whit about how the US spun it at the time, and have spun it ever since. The US invasion was thwarted; that's what counted. And no, neither do I remember the officer's name nor would he likely ever have confirmed the story to me after October, 1962. But tell me the story he did, as if it was something that was going to happen in just the normal course of events. Oh, and by the way, within the last few years this history was confirmed in full to me by a friend who was a young West Point grad at the time and later served in Viet Nam, who was personally familiar with the developments described. (Article changed on November 15, 2017 at 13:06) (Article changed on November 15, 2017 at 17:41) Wikipedia defines "moral panic" as "a feeling of fear spread among a large number of people that some evil threatens the well-being of society" and notes that A Dictionary of Sociology attributes the cultivation of moral panics to "moral entrepreneurs and the mass media." We're well into the second year of a moral panic drummed up by Democrats and "Never Trump" Republicans for the purpose of nullifying the outcome of the 2016 presidential election -- removing US president Donald Trump from office, or making him a four-year de facto lame duck -- by blaming his upset victory on "Russian meddling." But moral panics have multiple uses. As former Obama White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel once said, "[y]ou never let a serious crisis go to waste. ... it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." This is as true of an artificial crisis as of a real one. Perhaps even more so, since real crises need to be dealt with, not just manufactured and hyped. Karen Hobert Flynn of The Daily Beast reports that US Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Mark Warner (D-VA) are pushing something called "The Honest Ads Act." The prospective law would burden web sites and social media networks with unconstitutional identity disclosure and disclaimer requirements like those currently covering political ads on radio and television. Their excuse? Moral panic. "The Russians" pushed some cheesy political memes over social media last year. Obviously, "Hillary vs. Jesus" is what swung the election. And, Hobert asserts, Americans have a " fundamental right to know who is trying to influence our votes and our views on public policy." Well, no. Americans -- and Russians -- have a fundamental right to say what they want to say, with or without their names attached to it. "Who the Author of this Production is," reads an old political pamphlet, "is wholly unnecessary to the Public, as the Object for Attention is the Doctrine itself, not the Man." That old pamphlet is Common Sense, the manifesto of the American Revolution. We know its author's name -- Thomas Paine -- now, but its first readers didn't. From Cato's Letters to The Federalist Papers, anonymous and pseudonymous political speech defined early American free speech in ideology and in practice. There's a right to speak. There's a right to listen or not listen to what someone says. There's a right to ask who's saying it, and to condition one's belief or non-belief on the answer. But that answer may be "none of your business," and there's no right to forcibly dictate otherwise. Don't let demagogues like McCain, Klobuchar, and Warner exploit the current moral panic to manufacture fake new rights at the expense of old real ones. No wonder there's a growing army of "preppers." It's hard to escape feeling the apocalypse is around the corner, or if not the apocalypse, then another civil war. The culprits for this feeling: natural disasters, mass shootings, and cybercrime. Oh, and divisive politicians. If things keep going in the direction they seem to be headed, we'll have to have mandatory apocalypse prep classes for elementary school students. All kidding aside, it's a tough time to be a parent. Even if your family wasn't directly affected by any of the major events that have unfolded over the last several months, your kids probably still know a great deal about them. You have the media and free speech to thank for that, and you can hardly take the First Amendment for granted, nor can you impugn it. You don't want to be dismissive if your kids bring up hurricanes and shootings, yet as intense event follows intense event, it's hard not to feel detached and analytical, even cynical. These are people's lives though, and you need to model sympathy and care, you need to model humanism at a time when a kind of cold detachment is becoming the norm. If your family has been directly affected by disaster, it's tough to know the right path forward. You want to prepare your children for a future where natural disaster, violence and loss may be the norm--but you don't want to dwell on these things. Dr. Elanna Yalow , Chief Academic Officer of KinderCare Education, says, "One thing you want to be mindful of is having too many high-stress conversations about your losses or challenges within earshot of young children. They are very sensitive to the stress of the adults around them, so if they see you upset, that can be unsettling to them." The key is to prepare children for the future in a way that is calm, reassuring, and hopeful. Yet imagine you're among the Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria . Currently, 60 percent of the island is without power, and more than 100,000 Puerto Ricans have had to move to the mainland. There aren't many ways to shield a child from that kind of stress. As catastrophic events become more common, it's important to educate kids on techniques for coping with stress. The more common catastrophes such as Hurricane Maria become, the more likely it is they'll affect your children. All the time as a parent you're dealing with this raging debate of whether climate change is contributing to natural disasters. If climate change is real, and most scientists say it is, then your children will see an increase in hurricanes like Maria when they're adults. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (quoted by Melvin Maria here ), "There's no arguing--the world is getting warmer, weather events will become more catastrophic, and we're causing it." Yet the current president and his staff don't believe in climate change (Trump says it's a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese). Not believing in it won't make it stop. Then, imagine coming to the mainland and being bombarded with reports of mass shootings. Most recently, a gunman in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs opened fire on a congregation, killing 26 people. He was able to buy firearms because of an Air Force error . Trump said the shooting wasn't an issue of unlawful gun ownership. "I think that mental health is your problem here," Trump said. This is coming from a president who wants to cut Medicaid spending , when millions of Americans rely on Medicaid funds to help rehabilitate mentally ill family members. It's true the gunman was mentally ill, but he wouldn't have been able to get any guns if the background check had involved "extreme vetting," the type of rigorous investigation Trump is gunning for with Muslim immigrants. But when someone asked Trump if he would support extreme vetting, he said, "If you did what you're suggesting, there would have been no difference three days ago, and you might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun or a rifle in his truck go out and shoot him and hit him and neutralize him." He's talking about the gun-toting citizen who shot the gunman after he came out of the church. His idea, a familiar one from bygone Wild West days, is that more people should carry guns to protect themselves from shooters. If it's up to the NRA and the politicians they bankroll, everyone will carry a gun in the future. Parents (if they don't already) will buy guns for kids soon as they're strong enough to carry them. To any reasonable spectator, it's clear a future awash in guns will be future of more mass shootings. Thanks to the Second Amendment, another amendment we can't curb, our link to guns is inextricable. Really, what should we tell our kids about the parade of mass shootings that shows no sign of slowing down? Lock and load? On top of natural disasters and mass shootings, as a parent you have to deal with the thought of cybercrime affecting your kids' future. There are ways to safeguard school networks, but that doesn't erase the fact that about 27 percent of schools allow anyone access to their open networks, and 54 percent don't require antivirus software. Then there's the Equifax data breach . If your kids are among the 143 million whose Social Security info was exposed, they could be affected for the rest of their lives. We're becoming more dependent on the digital world every day. About 40 million people use online dating sites , but increasingly, there's no assurance the person you're messaging for a potential hookup is real. In the future, the Equifax breach will make it easy for predators to steal identities, pose as someone on Tinder, and take your child for all they're worth. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Quicklink Not Found Sometimes, authors delete their quicklinks after publishing them. To see if the quicklink was renamed or re-published, please click here. From Truthdig By Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers The People's Climate March in Washington, D.C., in April. (Image by (Mark Dixon / CC BY 2.0)) Details DMCA This piece originally appeared on Popular Resistance. The climate crisis is upon us. It seems that every report on climate conditions has one thing in common: things are worse than predicted. The World Meteorological Report from the end of October shows that Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) are rising at a rapid rate and have passed 400 parts per million. According to Dr. Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, "the changes we're making today are occurring in 100 years, whereas in nature they occur in 10,000 years." The United States is experiencing a wide range of climate impacts from major hurricanes in the South to unprecedented numbers of wildfires in the West to crop-destroying drought in the Mid-West. In October, the General Accounting Office reported that the US has spent over $350 billion in the last decade on disaster relief and crop insurance, not counting this year's hurricanes. These costs will continue and rise. We are past the time to make a major commitment to the transformation we need to mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis. Imagine the benefits that such a commitment would have in creating a cleaner environment, better health and more jobs and, if structured in a way that is democratized and benefits the public, in ending environmental racism and economic injustice. Climate Talks in Germany The 23rd session of climate talks is taking place right now in Bonn, Germany. The United States formally withdrew from its commitment to the Paris climate treaty, but delegations of people from the US are in attendance to show their commitment to addressing the climate crisis. A group of organizations, such as 350.org and Indigenous Environmental Network, presented their climate platform as "the people's delegation." They are calling for a just transition to a fossil-free future and an end to market schemes to offset carbon use. The people are expressing their demands for more action on the climate in multiple protests around the COP23. Ahead of the climate talks, on Saturday, November 4, tens of thousands of people marched in Bonn to demand an end to fossil fuels. The march kicked off a series of direct actions and alternative events to take place during the talks. On November 8, the one year anniversary of the election of Donald Trump, activists organized a "Climate Genocide" day of action in Bonn and around the world. On Saturday, November 11, thousands marched in Bonn again to protest the use of nuclear energy. The talks conclude on November 17. The Trump Administration sent a delegation to the climate talks with the goal of protecting the fossil fuel industry. John Cushman of Inside Climate News writes, "the U.S. is straddling a climate credibility gap, with the Trump administration's policies on one side of an abyss and what the government's own scientists know about climate change with increasing certainty on the other." 100 Percent Renewable Energy Is Necessary and Possible If there is to be any possibility of mitigating the climate crisis, then action must be taken immediately to end the use of dirty energy, otherwise lower carbon emissions and sequester carbon. While some are saying that we have 18 years before we hit the limits of our "carbon budget," scientists Stephen Davis and Robert Socolow report that when all sources of carbon and carbon commitments are taken into account, we will hit the limit in 2018. Organizations and government agencies have pointed out that the Paris climate treaty goals are not enough to mitigate the climate crisis. On Tuesday, the United Nations Environment Program released a report calling for faster and more rapid cuts in emissions than are outlined in the treaty. This can be achieved by closing coal plants and moving to renewable sources, improving energy efficiency, protecting and planting more forests and changing agricultural practices to sequester carbon in soil. The good news is that it is possible to reduce carbon quickly, and it will lower energy costs, improve health and create jobs. A study released at the COP23 shows that we can move to zero carbon energy worldwide by 2050. This would be largely based on solar energy with additional energy from wind, water and a small percentage from biomass, although biomass is not considered to be a sustainable source of energy. David Schwartzman reminds us that although we have the knowledge and resources to move quickly to 100 percent renewable energy, two major obstacles are the Military Industrial Complex and capitalism. He writes, "All is contingent on the growing strength of multi-dimensional, transnational class struggle, [and] on the convergence of movements for climate, energy, environmental justice and for peace and demilitarization." Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). UML criticises government over attacks on left candidates The main opposition CPN-UML has accused the government of providing security only to candidates of the ruling parties. Democratic Donkey - 3D Icon (Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA Yes, November 7 was a good night for Democrats, especially in Virginia. Their candidate for governor, Ralph Northam, solidly defeated the GOP's Ed Gillespie, and Democrats may have gained a majority in the state's lower House. The day's most iconic outcome was the victory of Danica Roem, an openly transgender woman, over 13-term Virginia House Delegate Bob Marshall, 54 to 45 percent. Marshall was the author of a failed "bathroom bill" that would have restricted transgender access. Yes, exit polls and the diverse profiles of newly elected Democrats in Virginia and nationwide clearly show a widespread revulsion against the racism, sexism and homophobia of Trumpism. But it should not be seen as vindicating business-as-usual for the Clinton-Obama establishment and its blend of liberal identity politics and coziness with the corporate elite. Securing equal rights and dignity for all genders, sexual orientations and races, welcoming their diversity and celebrating their presence even among the elite is a fundamental liberal value that Democrats must continue to promote. But all this praise for equal treatment rings hollow in a nation with the massive economic inequality described in Billionaire Bonanza, a report issued on Nov. 8 by the Institute for Policy Studies. The report finds that - The three wealthiest people in the United States -- Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett --now own more wealth than the entire bottom half of the American population combined, a total of 160 million people or 63 million households - In 1982, the combined wealth of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans totaled $231 billion in today's dollars. Today their total wealth is 11 times greater: "$2.68 trillion, more than the GDP of Britain, the fifth-largest economy in the world." This situation calls for radical measures, not just the usual bromides about "growing the economy" and "creating jobs." American economic growth is not a "rising tide that lifts all boats." What we have instead is a small fleet of yachts in a rising sea full of swimmers trying to stay afloat. Thanks to American tax, corporate and other laws governing our economy, most swimmers won't be allowed aboard. There's an urgent need to redistribute both wealth and income to break the oligarchs' stranglehold on our democracy. A realistic effort would include - Restoring steeply progressive income tax rates and estate tax rates at federal and state levels - Imposing an annual wealth or net worth tax (as in France and the Netherlands) - Improving the balance of power between capital and labor by facilitating unionization and the formation of worker co-ops The Democratic Party won't do anything like this if it needs permission from big corporate donors. Bernie Sanders proved that a national campaign can be funded entirely on small donations from ordinary citizens. But his campaign was undermined by a party establishment that is even now lining up at the corporate trough for 2018. The incompetence and sheer awfulness of the Trump presidency and GOP congressional majority can lull progressives into thinking that simply winning the 2018 and 2020 elections will be a national salvation. As Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer would have it, the Democratic Party doesn't need a new direction--all it needs is better messaging and organization at the ground level. Obamacare, a program that leaves 12.3% of adults uninsured and guarantees the unnecessary profits of the health-care industry, is "working"; all it needs is tweaks. This is a dangerous illusion. Our democracy was in serious trouble before Trump. The glaring contrast between excessive wealth of the ruling class and increasing economic insecurity for everyone else created a bitterness and cynicism about the System--aka Washington or the Swamp--that Trump's campaign exploited. For a demonstration of the deep corruption and dysfunction of Washington look no further than the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)--a $700 billion bipartisan gift to the military-industrial complex. (Total national-security expenses, including nuclear weapons and homeland security, is well over $1 trillion.) The NDAA gives the military an $80 billion budget increase, far more than Trump's request for a $54 billion increase. Only 4 Democrats, 3 Republicans and Independent Bernie Sanders voted against it. "Progressive" stalwarts Warren, Franken, and Brown supported it. Dollar costs are also opportunity costs. Billions spent on the military become unavailable for badly needed social goods such as guaranteed universal health care. As Alex Emmons noted in The Intercept, the $80 billion increase in the NDAA "could make public colleges and universities in the U.S. tuition-free." 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 Our Future Democratic Donkey - Caricature (Image by DonkeyHotey) Details DMCA Sweeping victories in last Tuesday's elections provided a bracing tonic for Democrats. "In case there was any doubt," tweeted former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau, "the Resistance is real." Tuesday's victories should buoy Democrats but not mislead them. The reaction to Trump is fierce, but not sufficient to consolidate a new ruling coalition that can make the changes we need. Turnout in Virginia, which featured the marquee gubernatorial matchup on Election Day, was at presidential year levels. Democrats, people of color, and self-described liberals came out in large numbers. Women voted Democratic by large margins. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Ralph Northam -- a charismatically challenged, eminently decent, experienced, establishment figure -- didn't light that fire. Middle class voters in the Virginia suburbs braved a driving rainstorm to deliver a stunning rebuke to Trump, and to the vile "Trumpism without Trump" campaign run by former Republican lobbyist Ed Gillespie. Democrats won big down ballot as well, capturing 15 seats in the House of Delegates and coming close to erasing the previous 32-seat Republican advantage in the state House completely. This represents the most sweeping shift in control of the state legislature since the Watergate era. Insurgents also won, including Democratic Socialist Lee Carter, who took out the Republican majority whip, and Danica Roem, the first transgender candidate to win a state legislative seat in the country. Virginia was not alone. Democrats also took back the statehouse in New Jersey, won full control in Washington State, elected the first Democratic mayor of Manchester, New Hampshire, and Charlotte, North Carolina elected its first African American female mayor. In Maine, voters overwhelmingly voted to extend Medicaid under Obamacare. Pollsters increasingly see the Republican majority in the House as endangered. Fury at Trump has mobilized Democratic and independent voters. The absence of Trump on the ticket may depress Republican turnout. The Republican Congress is even less popular than Trump. In some ways, the more interesting race occurred in New Jersey, where the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Philip Murphy, an irrepressible happy warrior, also won big as expected. Murphy is yet another former Goldman Sachs banker, but sought to rise above it. Twenty-nine percent of voters said his Goldman Sachs background made them feel worse about him; only 8 percent said it made them feel better, and they were probably Republicans. Murphy presented himself as a progressive champion. He endorsed a $15 minimum wage, the creation of a public bank, and investment in infrastructure. He called for legalization of pot, embraced unions, and supported making New Jersey a sanctuary state. Unlike Northam, exit polls showed Murphy won the male vote, losing white men by only 50-46. Unlike Northam, he won a majority of those without college degrees. Like Northam, he had overwhelming majority among people of color, women and the young. Despite those results in New Jersey, there is a danger that Democrats ultimately will see hostility to Trump as the simple solution to their woes. Democrats, concluded Jonathan Chait, "don't need to take a radical left-wing stance to oppose the GOP agenda. They can defend the prerogatives of fairly affluent voters who are still getting hurt at the expense of the super-rich. It is a very favorable position." Or as Lee Drutman put it in the New York Times, reflecting the view of the party's professionals, "the key to Democrats' fortunes in 2018 and 2020 will be to execute on the fundamentals -- pick quality candidates who don't mess up, make sure to get voters to the polls, and take advantage of President Trump's low approval numbers and the inevitable turn against Republicans. Ride the wave. Don't get too fancy." That dramatically underestimates the task before Democrats. Democrats won in Virginia, New Jersey, Washington State and Maine, but so did Hillary Clinton. Northam essentially followed the Hillary Clinton strategy in Virginia, building a majority grounded on the middle class suburbs, the college educated, women, people of color, and the young. That strategy worked for Clinton in Virginia and New Jersey in 2016, and Trump's serial outrages fuel a fury that made it even more powerful in 2017. Northam ran better than Clinton in almost every demographic and every region, but still lost Trump counties big time. Northam's call for civility and for working together didn't succeed in appealing to white working people, particularly in rural areas. It succeeded overall in Virginia, a remarkably diverse and relatively affluent state. Exit polls reported 33 percent of the electorate was people of color (who voted 80-19 for Northam). Fifty-eight percent were college educated, voting 60-39 Northam, while those without a college degree went 52-46 for Gillespie. Northam lost the white vote, particularly white men by 63-36. He lost whites without a college degree by a stunning 72 to 26. Tuesday's elections give Democrats obvious momentum. Democratic committees can expect a surge of fundraising. Candidate recruitment will get easier. Republican retirements have already accelerated. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Incidents of hate crimes, particularly against African-Americans, Jews and Muslims, went up to 6,121 during 2016, seeing an increase of 4.6 percent compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Monday (November 13). A hate crime is defined by the FBI as a "criminal offence against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender's bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity". According to the FBI report, Jews and Muslims were the two most common targets of religiously-motivated hate crimes. There were increases in reported hate crimes across the board compared to 2015. Anti-Muslim hate crimes rose by nearly 20 percent, anti-white by 17 percent, anti-Latino by 15 percent, and anti-Jewish by 3 percent. In its report, the FBI notes: "In 2016, the nation's law enforcement agencies reported that there were 7,615 victims of hate crimes." The data also show that, "Of the 1,584 victims of anti-religious hate crimes", 24.5 percent were victims of anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias. "We have all witnessed the anger and prejudice that characterized last year's election season, and that is growing nationwide in the current political environment," said CAIR National Department to Monitor and Combat Islamophobia Director Corey Saylor. "To reverse this disturbing trend toward increased hatred and societal division, we must stand up to bigotry and the targeting of minority groups." CAIR's own preliminary data, derived from different sources than the FBI, reveals that so far, anti-Islam prejudice incidents are up 9 percent in the first three quarters of 2016 over the previous year. So far this year, the organization has recorded 195 anti-Islam hate crimes. Although the FBI report is the most comprehensive look at the nation's hate crimes released every year, the report is known to be woefully inadequate -- because it may undercount the number by the hundreds of thousands, based on other federal surveys, VOX said adding: "But the report gives a glimpse at the numbers in a year in which concerns about hate crimes skyrocketed due to President Donald Trump's campaign and election. Research shows that support for Trump was driven largely by racial resentment, and Trump played into that resentment with his own racist rhetoric. As a result, Trump's election led to widespread fears that there would be an emboldening of racist acts across America. (Indeed, some attendees at the violent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August -- made up of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and Ku Klux Klan members -- cited Trump as partial inspiration for the demonstration.)" In the month after Trump was elected, there were more than 860 reports of hate attacks to the Southern Poverty Law Center -- including school teachers making Islamophobic comments, students telling Latino peers that Trump would deport them, and outright physical violence that was seemingly motivated by racism, VOX pointed out. There have also been reports of mosques being burned, violent attacks against Indians, and a drive-by shooting at the Tulsa, Oklahoma, headquarters for the LGBTQ organization Oklahomans for Equality. And then there were the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, in which a Nazi sympathizer allegedly killed a woman after he drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters. Not all of these attacks have been verified as acts motivated by bigotry, but they're certainly a cause for alarm. Tellingly, On Saturday, November 11, a man wielding a hammer damaged property at two mosques in Sunset Park and Bay Ridge over the weekend, the New York Police Department said. He smashed the windows and broke a security camera at the Beit El-Maqdis Islamic Center in Sunset Park. Then, about 30 minutes later, he appeared at the Fatih Camii Mosque, according to police. "Apparently that individual used a hammer to smash a mail box and a door handle," an NYPD spokesman told Patch. The NYPD is investigating the incidents as a hate crime. On November 4, vandals put up hateful and anti-Semitic posters on Temple Or Rishon Jewish synagogue in Orangevale, California walls. The Department of Homeland Security is offering tens of thousands of dollars to religious institutions to help safeguard their houses of worship. Temple Or Rishon is one of the recipients of this nationwide grant program. From Wallwritings On the day Yasser Arafat died, November 9, 2004, former Illinois Republican Congressman Paul Findley wrote an article to describe the relationship he had with the Palestinian leader. Paul Findley knew then, and he knows now, that if enough members of Congress had joined with him in favor of talking with Yasser Arafat, Israel's control over American policy might well have shifted in a different direction. His article was published in the Daily Star,a Beirut, Lebanon, publication, on the occasion of Arafat's death, 75, in a Paris hospital. Arafat had been under essential house arrest in his Ramallah headquarters. When he became ill, Israel moved him to Paris. The failure of Finley's news-worthy piece to find significant American exposure was further evidence of just how much Israel and its American allies fear an influential man like Paul Findley. It is an article that reveals the irenic spirit and courageous political strength of Paul Findley. A political figure who has refused to yield power to non-American forces, frightens Israel. They need total control to keep Congress in check. That is why BDS is such a threat to conservative Israeli governments. When people recognize deception as a false narrative, and are offered a way to take nonviolent action, that action must be put down by Israel and its loyal American allies. Memo to Congress from Tel Aviv: BDS is a danger, shoot it down. Don't ask why, just do it. Findley was that rare member of the U.S. Congress who ignored memos from foreign governments... He understood the danger of allowing the state of Israel to control American foreign policy in the Middle East. At great political and personal cost, Paul Findley acted on that understanding while his congressional colleagues absorbed the narrative myth of "brave little Israel," and pocketed the money, votes, and favorable media coverage that was their reward. Paul Findley wanted to enlighten an American public which was ill-informed about Israel's unholy alliance with American decision-makers. In 1982, Paul Findley lost what had been a safe Republican seat in Congress, ending a political career that began when he was elected in 1960. His victorious opponent was Richard Durbin, now a U.S. Senator from Illinois. The New York Times reported that Findley "narrowly lost his bid for re-election for a number of reasons: a competent opponent, redistricting, the economic recession, and pro-Israel groups support to his challenger." As Findley wrote in 2004: "During my years in Congress, Yasser Arafat's name was often mentioned in committee meetings and on the floor of the House of Representatives but rarely without an ugly prefix. 'Terrorist' Arafat led the 'terrorist' PLO consisting of 'terrorist' Palestinians. Observers unfamiliar with the Arab-Israeli conflict might have mistakenly assumed that the adjective 'terrorist' was actually a proper part of these names." 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). See original here A group of U.S. leaders, including California Gov. Jerry Brown and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, reaffirmed the country's commitment to its Paris agreement targets this weekend at the COP23 talks in Bonn, Germany. U.S. senators, governors, mayors, state senators and business leaders reiterated at the U.S. Climate Action Center that the U.S. is "still in" the Paris agreement. Some senators also met with international officials to assure them that they, along with state elected leaders, will not only challenge Trump's agenda, but that cities and states are making progress on their own. On Saturday, Bloomberg and Brown presented "America's Pledge," which will capture and quantify emissions reductions by cities, states, universities and businesses. "The group of American cities, states, and businesses who remain committed to the Paris agreement represents a bigger economy than any nation outside the U.S. and China," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Together they are helping deliver on the promise of the agreement and ensuring the U.S. remains a global leader in the fight against climate change." As reported by POLITICO: As reported by the Guardian... 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 Mike Malloy Website Dopey DOJ Attorney General Jeff Sessions bobbed and dodged his way through yet another Congressional hearing Tuesday. He seems to recall one salient detail about his time with candidate Trump per Congressional hearing, have you noticed? And always, soon after Mueller interviews another Trump campaign insider. This time he suddenly remembered a Trump campaign meeting in which high-level Russian connections were discussed ... just after former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos spilled his guts to Bob Mueller. What a coincidence. The Guardian has more: "Jeff Sessions on Tuesday acknowledged a former aide to Donald's Trump presidential campaign informed him during the 2016 election about ties to Russian officials, appearing to contradict his own testimony to members of Congress during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general earlier this year. "Testifying before the House judiciary committee, Sessions said he only recently recalled a meeting during the 2016 presidential election in which George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump's campaign, disclosed his contacts with Russians. "The attorney general also said he did not remember talking to Carter Page, an former foreign policy adviser to Trump who has said he told Sessions about a planned trip to Moscow. "It was revealed earlier this month that Papadopoulos had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about the nature of his contacts with the Russians and had been cooperating with the special counsel Robert Mueller. "Sessions was pressed on Tuesday about court documents that revealed he led a meeting in March 2016 in which Papadopoulos spoke of his ties to Russia and offered to facilitate an encounter between Trump and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. "'I had no recollection of this meeting until I saw these news reports,' Sessions said, adding he still lacked a 'clear recollection' of what exactly Papadopoulos said during the meeting. "Sessions, who during his Senate confirmation hearing in January testified under oath that he was not aware of any contacts between Trump's campaign and the Russians, vehemently denied intentionally misleading members of Congress. "'In all of my testimony, I can only do my best to answer all of your questions as I understand them and to the best of my memory,' Sessions said. "'But I will not accept, and reject, accusations that I have ever lied under oath. That is a lie.' 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 Consortium News Puerto Rican residents walk in flooded streets in Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sept. 22, 2017, following Hurricane Maria. (Image by (Puerto Rico National Guard photo by Sgt. Jose Ahiram Diaz-Ramos)) Details DMCA It's been nearly seven weeks since Hurricane Maria shredded the island of Puerto Rico and, still, conditions for millions of Puerto Ricans remain grim and barely livable. Thousands are still stuck in shelters, while many others remain in their homes with limited access to electricity and clean water. Last Thursday, large swaths of San Juan were again without power and those without their own independent generators were thrown into darkness with little support. Once again, heavy rains flooded out the streets of San Juan, creating the conditions for various water-borne diseases like cholera to proliferate. I spoke with attorney and human rights activist Judith Berkan about conditions on the Island, even as federal troops prepare to leave the struggling U.S. territory. Dennis Bernstein: Tell us about your day today. Judith Berkan: I had two court hearings and in the middle of the first one, which was in the federal court, we became aware that there had been a major blackout throughout the north coast of Puerto Rico. This one is supposed to last between 12 and 18 hours. The system gets overloaded and then it goes out again. Tuesday night there were incredible storms here in Puerto Rico. Because we don't have electricity, the pumps to drain water from the drains are not functioning. One of the attorneys at the first hearing had actually been pulled out of her car during the awful rains. In the afternoon, after getting out of my first court hearing, I called the court regarding my second hearing, which is an injunction to try to save people's wages during the hurricane aftermath. When we got there, we had five minutes of generator power to be able to reschedule the hearing. There are a lot of labor issues going on. People are losing their jobs, businesses are closing, people are not getting paid for days they work. Some businesses have paid their workers even if they could not come in, but those are exceptional cases. There has been an inaccurate counting of deaths. The official number is 55 right now but every day you hear of situations where people are dying and whether they are attributed to the storm or not is a matter of great controversy. So many health and mental health issues are connected to the storm. The nursing homes are without air conditioning. There are four confirmed deaths from leptospirosis but we suspect there are a lot more. Dennis Bernstein: The Army or the National Guard announced today that they are going to be removing one-third or one-half of their forces because "they have other jobs to do." I guess they are not done, though, are they? Judith Berkan: No, not at all. I can't say there have been no improvements since September 20. There is less debris around the streets. We are now at 42% of generator capacity. You get power for a time, then it goes away again. So there is no predictability in our lives. Today the entire San Juan area was out and, from what I understand, the entire north coast. And this is 50 days after the hurricane. And remember that about 10 days before Maria we had hurricane Irma, which knocked out the electricity to a good portion of the country. So there have been a lot of people who have not had electricity since Labor Day. Dennis Bernstein: I assume that people on the outer islands are in even worse shape. Judith Berkan: It's a lot worse and delivering supplies is a lot worse. We also have very mountainous terrain in the middle of the main island and there are still barrios there which have not seen a single government official or even private institutions. Dennis Bernstein: We also know that there is quite a substantial exodus from the island, people heading to Florida and New York. Judith Berkan: Yes, about 100,000 people have already gone to Florida, out of a population of 3.5 million. Today FEMA said they would be giving passage to people to stay in hotels outside of Puerto Rico. A lot of our hotels were destroyed and the others are filled with military personnel and FEMA people, etc. So far, only 300 families have accepted the offer. About 25% of people are still without water. 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 No More Fake News Mind Control (Image by pixabay.com) Details DMCA If you want to track a civilization as it collapses, watch what happens to the concept of the rebel. From the 1960s onward -- starting with Lee Oswald and the assassination of JFK -- the whole idea of "the rebel" with power has been sequentially updated and repackaged. This is intentional. The objective is to equate "rebel" with a whole host of qualities -- e.g., runaway self-serving paranoia; random destruction; out-of-control drug use; generalized hatred; the commission of crimes... On a lesser, "commercialized" level, the new rebel can define himself by merely showing up at a concert to scream and drink heavily and break something, having already dressed to make a dissident fashion statement. He can take an afternoon off from college classes and have his arms tattooed. All the while, of course, he functions as an avid consumer of mainstream corporate products. You even have people who, considering themselves rebels of the first order, support a government that spies on its people 24/7, launches military attacks all over the world, and now funds a Manhattan Project to map every move of the 100 billion neurons of the brain, for the ultimate purpose of controlling it. Even going back as far as the 1950s, the so-called decade of conformity, psyops professionals sculpted notions of The Rebel: He was the person who didn't want to take part in the emerging bland corporate culture. He was imagined and presented as troubled, morose; a wobbly unfocused JD Salinger Holden Caulfield, or a beatnik, a Madison Avenue caricature of somebody who opposed Madison Avenue. In other words, the people who were shaping the consumer culture were creating the image of the rebel as a cartoon figure who just didn't want to buy into "the good life." Time Magazine ran a cover story on the beatniks, and characterized them as a disaffected trend. Marlon Brando, heading up a bunch of moronic motorcycle riders, invaded a town of pleasant clueless citizens and took it over, wreaking destruction. The 1953 movie was The Wild One. James Dean, who had the same trouble Brando did in articulating a complete sentence, was "the rebel without a cause" in the "iconic film" of the same name. He raced cars toward cliffs because his father couldn't understand him. These were all puff pieces designed to make rebels look ridiculous, and they worked. They also functioned to transmit the idea to young people that being a rebel should be a showbiz affectation. That worked, too. Then the late 1960s arrived. Flower children rebels, in part invented by the major media, would surely take over the world and dethrone fascist authority with rainbows. San Francisco was the epicenter. But Haight-Ashbury, where the flowers and the weed were magically growing out of the sidewalks, turned into a speed, acid, and heroin nightmare, a playground for psychopaths to cash in and steal and destroy lives. The CIA, of course, gave the LSD culture a major push. For all that the anti-war movement eventually accomplished in ending the Vietnam war-crime, in the aftermath many of those college students who had been in the streets -- once the fear of being drafted was gone -- scurried into counselors' offices to see where they might fit into the job market after graduation. The military industrial complex took its profits and moved on, undeterred. The idea of the rebel was gone. It later resurfaced as The Cocaine Dealer, the archangel of the 1980s. And so forth and so on. All these incarnations of The Rebel were artificially created and sustained as psyops. At bottom, the idea was to discredit the Individual, in favor of The Group. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). From To The Point Analyses Part I -- America's Standing as a Civilized Nation There is more to being civilized than being a citizen of some political entity. This is so despite the fact that both the verb civilize and noun citizen are derived from the Latin civitas. To be civilized demands more than just having the language and mannerisms of the 5th century BCE Greeks, or the 2nd century BCE Han Chinese, or the 16th Century CE French. All of these groups believed that being civilized meant living and acting like them. Today the Americans have joined the chorus. They sing to the world that theirs is the home of the brave and land of the free, and claim that they are the real model for civilization. They throw in that rather ill-defined notion of freedom as a modern customizing point. None of these claims are very convincing. After all, each claimant has waged bloody wars of aggression, discriminated against outsiders and their own minorities, and generally sought aggrandizement by stealing other people's land. Only recently, since the end of World War II, has there grown up an understanding that: (1) language, mannerisms, and race are so varied that they cannot be used as prerequisites for civilized status without breeding mass intolerance toward minorities and "others," and... (2) aggressive war and the pursuit of conquest actually dehumanizes your nation and destroys one's civilized standing. Postwar international law has been designed to make intolerance on a large scale illegal -- a crime against humanity -- and the same goes for the waging of wars of aggression. It is questionable how effective such laws have been. Nonetheless, they are undeniably a step in a civilizing direction. If you dig under the surface of ethnic- or nation-based claims to civilized standing, you often find that they rest on such things as military prowess, technological advancement, and/or a dubious claim to be some god's favorite. Collective cultural expressions of racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia and other such displays of intolerance, as well as the carrying on of a "muscular" foreign policy, seem not to complicate claims to civilized status for many average citizens. But, of course, they should. In fact, not being or doing any of these things should be a necessary prerequisite for any group's appeal to civilized status. Based on such a requirement, the claim of the United States to be a civilized society seems in serious trouble. For instance, no one is going to accuse Donald Trump of being a model of tolerance. Indeed, it would seem that his election as president has inaugurated a time of intolerance embracing just those prejudices that erode a nation's civilized standing. Part II -- Hillary's Greatest Gaffe It is true that during her run for the presidency Hillary Clinton made many mistakes. She was wedded to a traditional, and very corrupt, version of U.S. politics -- a version that put her in the pocket of an array of special interests that, themselves, were not very civilized (for example, the Zionists). And, as Secretary of State under President Obama, she did her part to wage aggressive war. Yet, she was, at least in terms of her rhetoric, ready to take a stand for tolerance when it comes to social and cultural diversity within the United States. Ironically, that willingness to, in this regard, be publicly civil -- and call out those who were not -- led to her biggest political gaffe of the election. The campaign faux pas came on 9 September 2016, during a speech to a group of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) supporters. Here is what she said: "We are living in a volatile political environment. You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump's supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic -- you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he [Trump] has lifted them up. He has given voice to their websites that used to only have 11,000 people -- now 11 million. He tweets and retweets their offensive hateful mean-spirited rhetoric. Now, some of those folks -- they are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America." The Trump campaign people jumped on this statement and declared that it was a sign of "her true contempt for everyday Americans." In other words, from the Trump perspective, "those folks" were the real America. Trump's supporters proceeded to turn the term "deplorable" into something of a battle cry. I remember driving through the small Pennsylvania town of Red Lion soon after Clinton's speech. There was a big sign declaring "Welcome to the Home of the Proud Deplorables." Part III -- Trump the Decivilizer Of course, Clinton was correct in her criticism of Trump and some of his supporters. In fact, they were more than just deplorable. They were downright uncivilized. And, she was right that Trump has incited and manipulated them and their prejudices during the campaign. And, he has continued to do so as president. I think this became quite obvious at the 12 August 2017 "unite the right" protest in Charlottesville, Virginia. That event signaled the fact that Trump, a wealthy, self-righteous, impulsive, one-dimensional man who, in his simplistic ignorance, cannot tell the difference between his own opinion and fact, had let loose a substantial group of racist and reactionary citizens. These people see themselves not as the uncivilized of America, but rather as saviors of an anachronistic pseudo-civilization -- one based on white supremacy and mass intolerance. Regardless of how they see themselves, the behavior of both these "average Americans" and their approving president, is actually tipping America toward being unquestionably a "deplorable" and uncivilized place. It must be kept in mind that President Trump did originate all this prejudicial horror. It has always been there in the U.S. However, since the 1960s it has, for the most part, been kept out of the public realm. That is what the Civil Rights Movemen t and President Lyndon Johnson's Great Society programs accomplished -- to make it socially unacceptable, and in some cases illegal, to practice these prejudices publicly. This was actually a great step forward in the process of civilizing the United States, and if it had been maintained for say, another five generations, the number of "deplorable" voters may have shrunk to the point that the election of a decivilizer such as Trump would have been much less likely. Next Page 1 | 2 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). trumped (Image by davidswanson.org) Details DMCA On Tuesday the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on whether Trump can just up and nuke people or not. The hand-picked witnesses, all former military, all said there was some chance that if Trump ordered a nuking, somebody might refuse to carry out the order. On what grounds? No witness or Senator ever mentioned the illegality of war under the UN Charter or the Kellogg-Briand Pact. But one witness brought up "necessity" and "proportionality" as grounds for deeming a particular apocalypse-creating act illegal and another legal. But these "just war" concepts are not empirical. There's no standard for determining whether an action is "necessary" or "proportional." It comes down to the mood the commander of Strategic Command is in that day, or the partisan identity of some official, or the courage and integrity of rank-and-filers ordered to begin the earth's destruction. If, like me, you're not convinced that's good enough, here are some other possible approaches: 1) Pass a new law for North Korea and one for each other country on earth pointing out that a stronger law already exists called the U.S. Constitution which forbids presidents from launching wars that have not been declared by Congress, and include a ban on using any funds to violate the law. 2) As long as we're passing laws to acknowledge the existence of laws, pass one to point out the absolute ban on war in the Kellogg-Briand Pact, as well as the near-ban on war in the UN Charter whose loopholes could certainly not be met by a presidential nuking. The two loopholes are (I.) authorization by the UN, and (II.) actual defense (where defense means something distinct from offense). Being a crime, war is not something Congress can make legal any more than a president can. An extra law pointing out that the UN Charter also bans threatening war, and that Trump has been threatening war, couldn't hurt. 3) As long as we're reading the Constitution and admitting that the president cannot be trusted to comply with laws, given the numerous laws he's already violating, get moving immediately to impeach, convict, remove from office, arrest, indict, and prosecute Trump. Even Tuesday's witnesses mentioned tangentially the "civilization threatening outcomes" we're facing here. Perhaps a bit of urgency is appropriate? 4) Pressure Congress to step in and pursue diplomacy with North Korea and end the practices most threatening to North Korea. Congress has the complete ability to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea, to withdraw U.S. weapons from South Korea, to withdraw U.S. ships from the Pacific, to ban U.S. bombing practice flights over Korea, to shut down new U.S. nuclear weapons programs, to stop U.S. missile tests, to forbid any first strikes, to take nukes off high alert, to dismantle U.S. nukes a few at a time while asking the world to follow suit, and to ask former president Jimmy Carter to visit North Korea on a mission of friendship. 5) Join with the people of South Korea in urging the new president of South Korea to live up to his promises by standing up to U.S. militarism. 6) Sign the People's Peace Treaty with North Korea, and join in efforts to make peace ourselves. 7) Keep the deal with Iran in place, stop threatening Iran, stop lying about Iran, stop sanctioning Iran, offer aid to Iran, and propose friendship with Iran. 8) Find Joe McCarthy's grave in Appleton, Wisconsin. Dig a large hole next to it. Toss in Russiagate and bury it there once and for all. In its place, take up the advice of Mikhail Gorbachev, and build friendship and cooperation with Russia. 9) Support the global ban on nuclear weapons, divestment from nuclear weapons, and the elimination of nuclear weapons from the earth. Dismantle U.S. nukes and move the funds to clean energy. 10) Replace war culture with systems of peace. UNDP, Himalayan Consensus to work together for crisis prevention United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nepal and Himalayan Consensus Institute (HCI) have entered a partnership to collaborate in the areas of crisis prevention and conflict mitigation. Nov 15, 2017: Auto Transmissions Market Forecast 2023 SAIC, Volkswagen, Aisin, Shaanxi Fast Auto Transmissions https://goo.gl/trdLmV http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-auto-transmissions-market-2017-demand-insight-key-plyers-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022/ A market study Global Auto Transmissions Market examines the performance of the Auto Transmissions market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Auto Transmissions market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Auto Transmissions market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Get Free Sample Of Report:The Global Auto Transmissions Market 2017 report includes Auto Transmissions market Size, Revenue, market Share, Auto Transmissions industry volume, market Trends, Auto Transmissions Growth aspects. 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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 75244United States Nov 15, 2017: Impression Die Forging Market Research Report 2023 Aubert Duval, Bharat Forge, Ellwood Impression Die Forging https://goo.gl/ASLsGT http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-impression-die-forging-market-2017-demand-insight-key-plyers-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022-2/ A market study Global Impression Die Forging Market examines the performance of the Impression Die Forging market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Impression Die Forging market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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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 75244United States Nov 15, 2017: Mouse-Derived MSC Market Forecast 2023 Lonza, Thermo Fisher, Millipore Sigma, Genlantis Mouse-Derived MSC https://goo.gl/7BxcTT http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-mouse-derived-msc-market-2017-demand-insight-key-plyers-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022-2/ A market study Global Mouse-Derived MSC Market examines the performance of the Mouse-Derived MSC market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Mouse-Derived MSC market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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Axol BioscienceMouse-Derived MSC Market : Type Analysis BM-MSC AT-MSCMouse-Derived MSC Market : Application Analysis Research?Institute HospitalFirstly, the report covers the top Mouse-Derived MSC manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Mouse-Derived MSC report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Mouse-Derived MSC industry, Mouse-Derived MSC industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. 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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 75244United States Nov 15, 2017: Pediatric Ultrasound Market Forecast 2023 Siemens, Samsung Medison, Esaote, Hitachi Pediatric Ultrasound https://goo.gl/gnhBhr http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-pediatric-ultrasound-market-2017-demand-insight-key-plyers-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022-2/ A market study Global Pediatric Ultrasound Market examines the performance of the Pediatric Ultrasound market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Pediatric Ultrasound market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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Toshiba CorporationPediatric Ultrasound Market : Type Analysis Newborns Infants Toddlers Preschoolers School-Aged Children AdolescentsPediatric Ultrasound Market : Application Analysis Hospitals ClinicsFirstly, the report covers the top Pediatric Ultrasound manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the Pediatric Ultrasound report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Pediatric Ultrasound industry, Pediatric Ultrasound industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. 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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 75244United States Nov 15, 2017: High-Brightness Led Market Forecast 2023 Epistar, Cree, Philips Lumileds High-Brightness Led https://goo.gl/pMWfqr http://www.spiremarketresearch.com/global-high-brightness-led-market-2017-demand-insight-key-plyers-segmentation-and-forecast-to-2022-2/ A market study Global High-Brightness Led Market examines the performance of the High-Brightness Led market Size 2017. It encloses an in-depth Research of the High-Brightness Led market state and the competitive landscape globally. 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Toyoda GoseiHigh-Brightness Led Market : Type Analysis Big Size Small SizeHigh-Brightness Led Market : Application Analysis Automotive Application General Lighting Backlighting Mobile Signals & SignageFirstly, the report covers the top High-Brightness Led manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Enquiry for More Info@Further, the High-Brightness Led report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of High-Brightness Led industry, High-Brightness Led industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. 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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 75244United States Global HCV Market to 2024 HCV Market http://optimainsights.org/request-toc/global-hcv-market-to-2024 http://optimainsights.org/services HCV market was valued at $12.5bn in 2015 and is forecast to contract 4.1% CAGR between 2015 and 2024, reaching 2024 global sales of $8.2bn. The volume of HCV patients who will be treated over the next several years is expected to decline resulting in market contraction.The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 185 million people globally are infected with Hepatitis C virus (HCV), with 3 to 4 million new infections each year. Roughly 75% of these cases fail to resolve acutely and evolve into a chronic state. Most estimates peg the number of patients with chronic hepatitis C infections at 3 million in the U.S. (1.0-1.8% of the population), although some recent estimates suggest that there could be as many as 8 milllion people (2.5% of the population). A slightly greater number of cases exists in Europe (7-12 million), with a large infected population in Asia (70 million+).Global HCV Patients Treated, 2015 - 2024 (in 1000s)Request For TOC :Current Treatment algorithmProtease inhibitors were the first direct antiviral drugs on the market for HCV. Vertex/J&Js Incivek (telaprevir) and Mercks Victrelis (boceprevir) were launched during 2011 and rapidly became part of the standard of care regimens.The approval of Gileads Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) in December 2013 was a watershed moment as it marked the availability of the first interferon-free regimens. The approval of Gileads Harvoni (sofosbuvir and ledispavir) in October 2014 brought the first FDA-approved interferon free regimen for genotype 1 HCV patients, the largest HCV population in the U.S.The approval of Gileads Epclusa (sofosbuvir/velpatasvir) in June 2016 further improved the standard of care in GT 2 and 3 patients. Overall Gileads sofosbuvir based regimens appear to have a best-in-class profile, with the highest cure rates, shortest duration of therapy, fewest pills, and best safety/tolerability profile.J&Js Olysio became the protease inhibitor of choice following its November 2013 FDA approval and launch, posting 2014 worldwide sales of $2.3bn as it was widely used in combination with Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) in an interferon-free regimen for GT 1 patients.The Era of interferon-free regimens has arrivedFollowing the approval of Gileads Harvoni in October 2014, AbbVies Viekira Pak in December 2014, and Mercks Zepatier in January 2016, three FDA approved IFNfree regimens are available for genotype 1 patients. These interferon-free regimens have revolutionized treatment, as they have high 95%+ cure rates, good safety and tolerability, with short (8-12 week) treatment times.Innovations in HCV TreatmentThere are 5 key discovery programs that could disrupt the HCV landscape in the foreseeable future. These include 1) Gilead's triplet at EASL, 2) Merck's nuke study, 3) Achillion's doublet nuke regimen, 4) Regulus' novel microRNA approach that could be used with pills, and 5) Abbvie/Enanta's next generation protease regimen.Mercks Zepatier (elbasvir and grazoprevir) was approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with HCV genotypes 1 and 4 in January 2016. Zepatier also produced strong Phase III data, with 95% SVR rates in most genotype 1 and 4 patient groups.There are a number of other HCV candidates in development, including new regimens from Gilead, Abbvie, and Merck. J&J is also trying to develop an interferon free regimen.Gilead, Merck, Abbvie, GSK, Roche, Bristol Myers & J&J are some of the key players in HCV market"Gilead and Bristol Myers led the HCV market with meaningful market share in 2015. We expect total sales to decline through 2024, though we anticipate Gilead will maintain majority share. We anticipate that Merck and AbbVie will gain share through the launch of their next-generation interferon-free regimens.Merck and Roche lead the market for pegylated alpha-IFNs. We predict that the interferon market will continue to contract as the launch of direct antiviral combination regimens has the potential to eliminate the need for interferon. J&J and Bristol Myers could see their franchises sales to decline through 2024.Reimbursement insightsOur Services :HCV regimens are heavily discounted & rebated. Abbvies Viekira and Mercks Zepatier have brought new competition to HCV, putting payors in a strong negotiating position leading to price declines. Moreover, contracts with payors that offer price discounts for the removal of restrictions on which HCV patients can be treated have pressured the average revenue per HCV patient. Gilead reports that the standard 12 week Epclusa regimen will be priced at of $75K. Epclusa is priced for $84K per 12 week regimen and Harvoni at $94K per 12 week regimen.Optima Insights is an innovative research and insights driven enterprise committed to offer actionable intelligence to the global life science and healthcare market. We believe that meaningful insights and improved strategic content holds the key to improved ROI for our clients. We strike an innovative engagement model with our clients to Co-Create Intelligence that would address very specific issues facing them within their functional areas. We continuously support clients through the entire journey map to enable them take better business decisions towards attaining market leadership.Chakradhar GManager International Marketing---------------------------------1 MMC, Road, Chennai. Pin - 600060,Tamil Nadu, I N D I APhone: +91 966 6620 365Whatsapp: +91 966 6620 365Email: info@optimainsights.org Asia Pacific Excluding Japan to Remain Dominant in the Global Digital Isolator Market in the Next Five Years MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3807 https://www.mrrse.com/digital-isolator-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/3807 https://www.mrrse.com/ Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently added a new publication in the database titled Digital Isolator Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 2022. This report provides a comprehensive analysis and forecast of the worldwide digital isolator market over the period of assessment of 2017 2022. According to the report, a growing need for automating industrial processes is anticipated to boost the development of the worldwide digital isolator market. The report presents a few of the main factors anticipated to boost market revenue growth and demand over the coming years.Free Copy of Sample Report @Global Digital Isolator Market: Factors Impacting Revenue GrowthThe worldwide market for digital isolator is expected to gain significant traction in demand and revenue growth owing to an increasing focus on industrial automation as compared to manual processes. Increase in usage of applications of higher altitude is also expected to be favorable for revenue increase of the worldwide digital isolator market. Digital isolators leverage advancement in technology to ensure efficient functionality in conditions of higher altitude, high levels of moisture, and pollution ridden environments. The inherent benefits and advantages of technologies used in capacitive digital isolators is predicted to boost revenue increase of the market over the next few years. Being a highly competitive and mature market, leading players operating across different countries are looking to devise innovative strategies to diversify their product line and grab a larger share of the digital isolator market.Read Full Report with TOC @Global Digital Isolator Market: Segmentation & AnalysisThe market for digital isolator has been segmented into isolation type (giant magnetoresistive, magnetic coupling, capacitive coupling), data rate (25 mbps to 75 mbps, less than 25 mbps, more than 75 mbps), channel (8 channel, 4 channel, 2 channel, 6 channel), vertical (healthcare, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, telecommunication, energy and power), and region (Latin America, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Europe, Japan, North America, and the Middle East & Africa). Of the isolation type segments, the giant magnetoresistive segment is expected to remain the largest, accounting for a market valuation of US$ 430.5 Mn by the end of 2017. This segment is expected to witness a CAGR of 7.1% in terms of value during the period of forecast. Among the regional digital isolator markets, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan is anticipated to remain dominant during the entire duration of the assessment period, estimated to witness a CAGR of 6.4%. The digital isolator markets in Japan and the Middle East & Africa are expected to witness sluggish development in the years to come. The Europe and North America regional markets will however balance out the revenue increase of the global market, given their significant market share over the period of forecast.Global Digital Isolator Market: Vendor ProfilingThe report features a few of the leading companies functional in the worldwide digital isolator market such as Maxim Integrated, Infineon Technologies, National Instruments, Analog Devices, NXP Semiconductors, Broadcom Limited, Texas Instruments, Silicon Labs, Murata Manufacturing, and ROHM Semiconductor.Enquire About this Report @About MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: Global Market Study on Commercial Aircraft: Narrow Body Aircraft Segment to Grow Highest During the Forecast Period MRRSE https://www.mrrse.com/sample/3825 https://www.mrrse.com/commercial-aircraft-market https://www.mrrse.com/enquiry/3825 https://www.mrrse.com/ According to a new report titled Global Market Study on Commercial Aircraft: Narrow Body Aircraft to Soar Highest During the Forecast Period issued recently and added into the database of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) the commercial aircraft market is estimated to exceed a value of US$ 330 billion by the end of the forecast period. The report focuses on the global market of commercial aircraft, analyzing its trends, demand and future prospects during the forecast period.Free Copy of Sample Report @The study report begins with an executive summary followed by introduction to the market of commercial aircraft. As per the report, commercial aircraft is meant for both jetliners ferrying passengers as well as aircraft handling cargo. Over the years, commercial aircraft market has boomed hence the report studies the market trends right from narrow body aircraft to the largest jetliners and forecasts its future. While analyzing the market of commercial aircraft, the report has considered factors such as tourism trends, demographic characteristics, economic growth, oil price volatility and expansion of different routes.The report analysis predicts that the narrow body aircraft is expected to fly highest in the market as it held half of the revenue share of commercial aircraft market during 2017 and likely to perform the same way during forecast period. On the other hand, report analyzes that wide-body aircraft falls behind in the market of commercial aircraft owing to the factors mentioned in the report. Additionally, the report forecasts that wide-body is expected to register slow CAGR less than 3.5% during the forecast period from 2017 to 2022. After this, the report shares its analysis in regards to regional jets which is predicted to deliver revenue even lower than that of wide-body aircraft. With this, it says that there is still an opportunity to tap for around US$ 10 billion for companies in the segment of regional jets.Read Full Report with TOC @Geographically, the report has segmented the commercial aircraft market into regions which are Middle East & Asia (MEA), Asia Pacific Except Japan (APEJ), Japan, Europe, Latin America and North America. According to the report, the North America region and APEJ region hold the highest potential in the market of commercial aircraft.The report also focuses on the competition involved in the market of commercial aircraft and profiles some of the key players operating. The companies profiled are Avions de transport regional, the Boeing Co., Pilatus Aircraft Ltd., Textron, General Dynamics Corporation, Bombardier, Embraer SA, Piaggio Aero Industries, Dassault Aviation and Airbus SE.Enquire About this Report @About MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite: Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) 2017 Global Industry Key Players - Herrenknecht , CREC , CRCHI , Robbins , Tianhe , Wirth , Komatsu , Mitsubishi , NHI Market Analysis and Forecast to 2022 Global Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Market https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2505577-global-tunnel-boring-machine-tbm-market-research-report-forecast-2017-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2505577-global-tunnel-boring-machine-tbm-market-research-report-forecast-2017-2022 https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2505577 Global Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) MarketThe Global Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2022 is a valuable source of insightful data for business strategists. 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This Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) market study provides comprehensive data which enhances the understanding, scope and application of this report.This report provides comprehensive analysis ofKey market segments and sub-segmentsEvolving market trends and dynamicsChanging supply and demand scenariosQuantifying market opportunities through market sizing and market forecastingTracking current trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive insightsOpportunity mapping in terms of technological breakthroughsRequest a Sample Report @The Major players reported in the market include:HerrenknechtCRECCRCHIRobbinsTianheWirthKomatsuMitsubishiNHIGlobal Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Market: Regional Segment AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Market: Product Segment AnalysisType 1Type 2Type 3Global Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Market: Application Segment AnalysisApplication 1Application 2Application 3To enquire about this report visit @Reasons for Buying this ReportThis report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamicsIt provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growthIt provides a six-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to growIt helps in understanding the key product segments and their futureIt provides pin point analysis of changing competition dynamics and keeps you ahead of competitorsIt helps in making informed business decisions by having complete insights of market and by making in-depth analysis of market segmentsTable of Contents-Key Points CoveredGlobal Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Market Research Report Forecast 2017-2022Chapter 1 Market Overview1.1 Overview1.2 Market Segmentation by Type1.2.1 Type 11.2.2 Type 21.2.3 Type 31.3 Market Segmentation by Application1.3.1 Application 11.3.2 Application 21.3.3 Application 31.4 Market Segmentation by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 IndiaChapter 2 Global Economic Impact2.1 Global Macroeconomic Analysis2.2 Global Macroeconomic Environment Development TrendChapter 8 Global Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) Manufacturers Analysis8.1 Herrenknecht8.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.1.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.1.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.1.4 Business Overview8.2 CREC8.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.2.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.2.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.2.4 Business Overview8.3 CRCHI8.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.3.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.3.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.3.4 Business Overview8.4 Robbins8.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.4.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.4.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.4.4 Business Overview8.5 Tianhe8.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.5.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.5.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.5.4 Business Overview8.6 Wirth8.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.6.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.6.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.6.4 Business Overview8.7 Komatsu8.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.7.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.7.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.7.4 Business Overview8.8 Mitsubishi8.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.8.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.8.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.8.4 Business Overview8.9 NHI8.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors8.9.2 Product Type, Application and Specification8.9.3 Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)8.9.4 Business OverviewContinued..Buy Report@Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. 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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 Parenteral Nutrition Market Set to Witness an Uptick during 2015-2023 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/parenteral-nutrition-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3611 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3611 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=3611150ml(150ML)Market Segment by Applications, can be divided intoCosmetic Glass BottlePerfume Glass BottleThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Cosmetic and Perfume Glass Bottle market.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-102, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog: Trends driving Fashion Retailing Market to Staggering Growth Through 2020 Fashion Retailing http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/100294 http://www.orbisresearch.com/reports/index/global-fashion-retailing-market-industry-analysis-and-outlook-2016-2020 http://www.orbisresearch.com/contact/purchase/100294 https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbis-research https://twitter.com/orbisresearch https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orbis-Research/820969017982115 Latest Report Available at Orbis research Fashion retailing Market provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics and a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining industry growth.The fashion industry involves the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and retailing of all types of apparel (mens, womens, and childrens) from the most exclusive and luxurious couture and designer fashions to ordinary everyday clothing.Request a sample of this report @Fashion retailing involves the sale of fashion products or merchandise for individual consumption, either from a fixed location such as a specialty store, department store or stall, or through a wide-ranging online network, also known as e-commerce portals. Fashion retailing in the present world scenario operates in two types of retailing namely On-site retailing and Off-site retailing.On the basis of fashion line, fashion retailing can be segmented into Haute-couture, RTW designer, Fast fashion and Mass-market fashion.The key factors which are anticipated to drive this market include growing global retail Ecommerce sector, rising online fashion penetration rate, increasing middle-class consumption expenditure and rising young population.- Advertising -Some of the noteworthy trends of this industry include upswing in fast-fashion retail, rising online spending in emerging markets and globally converging fashion due to increasing travel.However, the growth of respective industry is challenged by high cost of labor, exchange rate volatility and swiftly changing fashion styles.The report provides an extensive study of global fashion retail market and also some of its major regional markets. Furthermore, market dynamics such as key trends and development; and challenges are analyzed in depth.The global fashion retail market is highly competitive consisting of several large enterprises including the Inditex, H&M, Gap Inc, and Fast Retailing. The competitive landscape of the respective market, along with the company profiles of the leading players are also discussed in detail.Access this report atSome Points From table Of Contents:1. Market Overview1.1 Fashion1.1.1 Segmentation by Functions1.1.2 Segmentation by Product Type1.2 Fashion Retailing1.2.1 Segmentation by Fashion Line2. Global Fashion Market2.1 Global Fashion Market Revenue Actuals2.2 Global Fashion Market Revenue Forecast2.3 Global Fashion Market by Product Type2.4 Global Fashion Market by Segments2.4.1 Global In-Store Fashion Market Revenue Forecast2.4.2 Global Online Fashion Market Revenue Forecast2.5 Global Clothing Market2.5.1 Global Clothing Market Revenue Forecast2.5.2 Global Clothing Export by Value Actuals2.5.3 Global Clothing Export by Value Forecast3. Global Fashion Retail Market3.1 Global Fashion Retail Market Revenue Actuals3.2 Global Fashion Retail Market Revenue Forecast3.3 Global Fashion Retail Market by Region3.4 Global Fashion Retail Market by End User4. Regional Fashion Retail Market4.1 Europe4.1.1 Europe Fashion Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.1.2 The UK Clothing Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.1.3 Germany Clothing Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.2 Asia-Pacific4.2.1 Asia-Pacific Fashion Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.2.2 China Clothing Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.2.3 India Clothing Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.2.4 Japan Clothing Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.3 The US4.3.1 The US Fashion Retail Market Revenue Actuals4.3.2 The US Fashion Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.3.3 The US Clothing Retail Market Revenue Forecast4.3.4 The US Fast Fashion Retail Market Revenue ForecastPurchase a copy of Fashion Retail Market visit @For more information contact sales@orbisresearch.com .5. Market Dynamics5.1 Growth Drivers5.1.1 Growing Global Retail Ecommerce Sector5.1.2 Rising Online Fashion Penetration Rate5.1.3 Increasing Middle-Class Consumption Expenditure5.1.4 Rising Young Population5.2 Key Trends5.2.1 Upswing in Fast-Fashion Retail5.2.2 Rising Online Spending in Emerging Markets5.2.3 Globally Converging Fashion due to Increased Travel5.3 Challenges5.3.1 High Cost of Labor5.3.2 Exchange Rate Volatility5.3.3 Swiftly Changing Fashion StylesAbout Us: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.Contact Information: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: Fasciotomy Devices Market Research Report Explores the industry trends for the Forecast Period, 2017-2025 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=26801 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=26801 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Fasciotomy is a surgical procedure for patients suffering from compartment syndrome, carried out to relieve the pressure or tension in the muscles. Compartment syndrome is characterized by less perfusion to the tissues due to swelling or internal bleeding. It increases the compartment pressure in the muscles, more than the diastolic pressure, hindering the tissue perfusion rate. Hence, fasciotomy is recommended to restore the perfusion of the muscles, which reduces the permanent damage to nerves and muscles. The procedure restores the muscular perfusion in patients suffering from severe burns, injuries, and in cases of severe overweight. Fasciotomy is carried out by trained physicians under general anesthesia. A small incision is made on the desired body part and a small portion of fascia is removed to relieve the pressure.Get PDF Brochure for more Professional & Technical industry insights:Rising incidence of burns and severe injuries, and complications arising due to compartment syndrome affecting the quality of life are major factors driving the fasciotomy devices market during the forecast period. However, requirement of expert and trained physicians for the surgery to be performed, and high risk associated with wound closure process after surgery are expected to restrain the fasciotomy devices market.The global fasciotomy devices market has been segmented based on wound closure method and end-user. In terms of wound closure method, the global fasciotomy devices market has been divided into split-thickness skin grafts (STSG), negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), vessel loop techniques, continuous external tissue expansion (CETE), and others. The split-thickness skin grafts segment accounted for the largest market share in terms of revenue in 2016, attributed to the ability to permit delicate and controlled stretching of wounded tissue. The technique is used where primary wound closure techniques are not suitable. The continuous external tissue expansion and negative pressure wound therapy segments are projected to dominate the market during the forecast period, owing to rising adoption by physicians in the developed countries such as the U.S. and Europe and emerging players in the wound care market.Based on end-user, the global fasciotomy devices market has been segmented into hospitals and clinics. The hospitals segment accounted for the largest share of the market in terms of revenue in 2016, owing to availability of specialized and trained physicians in hospitals and favorable reimbursement policies. The hospitals segment is projected to continue to dominate the market during the forecast period. This is attributed to rising incidence of hypoxemia in muscles and tissues and increasing geriatric population in developed economies.Geographically, the global fasciotomy devices market has been segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the global market in terms of revenue in 2016, attributed to rising per-capita expenditure of the population on health care and availability of trained and expert physicians. Rising incidence of road accidents and increasing success rate of the procedure are major factors likely to fuel the growth of the market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period. However, North America is expected to continue to dominate the global fasciotomy devices market from 2017 to 2025, owing to rising investments by public and private players in the health care sector in emerging economies.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Key players in the global fasciotomy devices market are ZipLine Medica, Cardinal Health, Terumo Europe NV, Ethicon US, LLC., Dynamic Tissue Systems, Wound Care Technologies, Inc., Acelity L.P. Inc., mediGroup Australia Pty Ltd., and Instratek, among others.About UsTransparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. 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 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: 866-552-3453E-mail: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Endoscopic Imaging Market Current and Projected industry size in terms of volume and value 2017-2025 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=26780 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=26780 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Endoscopy is a procedure used to examine the internal organs of the human body such as, digestive tract, esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. Endoscope is helpful to detect conditions such as ulcers, abdominal pain, and gastrointestinal conditions. Endoscopy has revolutionized the disease-diagnosis process & thus is useful to perform surgeries. It has reduced post-surgery complications. Generally, upper endoscopy is performed to detect possible problems with the stomach, esophagus, duodenum, as well as to evaluate disease symptoms such as nausea, upper abdominal pain or intestinal bleeding, anemia, difficulty in swallowing, and vomiting. Upper endoscopy provides more accurate results than an X-ray for detecting smaller abnormalities or inflammation such as tumors or ulcers.Get PDF Brochure for more Professional & Technical industry insights:Endoscopic instruments are key for the success of the procedure and work directly toward the betterment of the patient. Minimal scarring, less chance of infection, and shorter hospital stays are benefits of endoscopic procedures. Six to eight hours of fasting prior to the procedure is required of upper endoscopy or ERCP. Stools must be cleared for colon examination. A sedative is provided for most examinations carried out with an endoscope. Endoscopy has several names depending on which portion of the body is being examined. Primary arthroscopy is used to examine or study the joints, bronchoscopy for lungs, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy for large intestine, cystoscopy and ureteroscopy for urinary system, laparoscopy for abdomen or pelvis, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy for esophagus and stomach.Market drivers for the global endoscopic imaging market are increasing prevalence of cancer, gastrointestinal & chronic diseases, and obesity. Changes in lifestyle is playing a major role in driving the global endoscopic imaging market. Increasing awareness about invasive surgeries, for instance, ACL reconstruction, is a key driver for the global endoscopic imaging market. High pricing and lack of skilled surgeons and technicians are restraints for the global endoscopic imaging market.The global endoscopic imaging market can be segmented into products and applications. In terms of products, the market can be segmented into endoscopes, visualization equipment, and other endoscopy equipment. The endoscopes segment can be further sub-segmented into flexible endoscopes, rigid endoscopes, capsule endoscopes, and robot-assisted endoscopes. The visualization equipment segment includes endoscopy cameras, video processors & converters, transmitters & receivers, endoscopic light sources, carts, displays & monitors, video recorders and other visualization devices.In terms of applications, the global endoscopic imaging market can be segmented into arthroscopy, bronchoscopy, colonoscopy, colposcopy, cystoscopy, gastroscopy, esophagoscopy, laparoscopy, laryngoscopy, neuroendoscopy, proctoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, thoracoscopy, ERCP, and others. The gastroscopy segment account the largest share of the market in 2016.In terms of end-user, the global endoscopic imaging market can be segmented into hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, academic research laboratories, and diagnostic laboratories. In terms of revenue, the hospitals segment held a prominent share of the global endoscopic imaging market.In terms of geography, the global endoscopic imaging market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is a key region for the global endoscopic imaging market, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The U.S. was major contributor to the endoscopic imaging market, in terms of revenue, in North America. The endoscopic imaging market in Asia Pacific is expanding rapidly due to the increase in number of least invasive surgeries. However, the Asia Pacific region is projected to be the most attractive market in the near future, especially in emerging economies such as such as India, China, and Japan, due to its better healthcare infrastructure, economic growth, and improving insurance payer, expending and developing private healthcare sector with increasing awareness amongst people due to educational progress.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Key players operating in the global endoscopic imaging market include Olympus Corporation, HOYA Corporation, Fujifilm, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific Corporation, Covidien Plc, Stryker Corporation, Medtronic Plc, Cook Medical Incorporated, Arthrex Inc, CONMED Corporation, Smith & Nephew Plc, KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG, and B.Braun Melsungen Ag.About UsTransparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. 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 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: 866-552-3453E-mail: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Mobile Imaging Services Market Competition, Value chain Analysis and Forecast 2020 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/mobile-imaging-services.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1560 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1560 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ A latest report published by Transparency Market Research says that the global mobile imaging services market will expand at a CAGR of 3.2% between 2014 and 2020. The report, titled, Mobile Imaging Services Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2020, says that the market will grow from US$10.7 billion in 2013 to US$13.3 billion by 2020. The report focuses on growing use of mobile imaging systems, which is identified as the main driver for the global mobile imaging services market. Mobile medical imaging services address the needs of people in areas that lack indoor hospitals and medical facilities. There has been an increase in the use of medical imaging systems in areas such as cardiology, neurology, and womens health. Many healthcare centers, medical centers, and hospitals have started offering mobile medical imaging services.Read Report Overview @Thanks to advertising, the global mobile imaging services market is heading towards impressive growth during the forecast period. Advertisements have made people aware about the use of mobile medical imaging systems, leading to an increased uptake of mobile imaging services. Faster healthcare and medical services during natural calamities, is the key advantage that mobile medical services applications offer. Considering the advantages of using mobile imaging services, most of the players of the market have started offering technologically advanced mobile medical imaging services.The report divides the global mobile imaging services market based on geography, type, and end-user. By service, the global mobile imaging services market is sub-divided into ultrasound sonography, X-ray, PET/CT, CT, MRI scan, mammography, and bone densitometry. The magnetic resonance imaging MRI segment led the global mobile imaging services market in 2013 as it was valued at US$3,740.6 million.Request Sample Report @The MRI segment is expected to lead the market during the forecast period as it is expected to be valued at US$4,737.9 million with a CAGR of 3.5%. Home healthcare service providers, hospitals, and private clinics are some of the primary end-users of the global mobile imaging services market. The report also highlights contribution from private clinics and hospitals till the end of 2020. The private clinics and hospitals segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.4% between 2012 and 2020, reaching US$9,736.8 million by 2020.Geographically, Europe and North America will drive the global mobile imaging services market from 2014 to 2020. Asia Pacific and countries from the Rest of the World region also contribute to the growth of the global mobile imaging services market. As per the report, Accurate Imaging Inc., Interim Diagnostic Imaging Inc., VanScan Ltd., DMS Health Technologies, Alliance Healthcare Services, Axiom Mobile Imaging, and Nuffield Health, are some of the leading players in the global mobile imaging services market, which are offering top notch mobile medical imaging services.Buy Full Mobile Imaging Services Market Report @About TMRTransparency 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: Glucose Management Systems Market Advanced TECH & growth opportunities in global Industry by 2025. https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=26771 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=26771 http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/ Glucose management systems have been revolutionary to monitor blood glucose level for individuals with hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, Type I and Type II diabetes. Glucose management systems have been instrumental for the proper management of diabetes, which if not properly managed can lead to complications related to permanent brain damage and even death. Glucose management system is an instrument to monitor and manage blood glucose level of patients. The glucose management system computes the amount of intravenous insulin that is needed to maintain blood glucose level. The system does so by adapting to individual insulin, which may even be fluctuating requirements of a patient.Get PDF Brochure for more Professional & Technical industry insights:Glucose management system functions with the help of managed doses of glucose and a software system. The system comprises of automated insulin delivery to patients and digital recording of insulin data. The software in the system provides a recommendation for a personalized insulin dose for intravenous and subcutaneous delivery with the help of more than 60 algorithms. The recording mechanism of the system stores data pertaining to blood glucose level for a large timeframe, and can be used to plot a graph.The glucose management system market is driven by the rising incidence of diabetes and growing attempts by public and private entities for proper diabetes management. The use of glucose management system is gaining traction as they are suitable for any inpatient hospital setting, which includes critical, intensive, med-surg, and pediatric care. This is because 30-50% of hospitalized patients require a diagnosis for diabetes, prediabetes, or hyperglycemia.Glucose management system, also known as diabetes management system, is a tool to control and manage blood glucose level of patients with the help of managed doses of glucose and in-patient software system. The glucose management system calculates the dose of intravenous insulin required to maintain blood glucose level. It adapts to the individuals need of insulin, even to meet the fluctuating requirements of a patient. The system consists of automated delivery of insulin to a patient and recording of the insulin data digitally. The recording system stores hundreds of results at a time, and can be transferred to a computer to plot a graph. The glucose management system has revolutionized the process to control body glucose level in cases of hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, and type I & II diabetes.Rising attempts by public and private players for cost saving and increasing prevalence of diabetes globally are the major factors projected to drive the glucose management systems market during the forecast period. However, declining reimbursement rates in developed countries such as the U.S. and low adoption of digital health care facilities in the emerging economies are expected to restrain the glucose management systems market during the forecast period.The global glucose management systems market has been segmented based on technology type, and end-user. In terms of technology type, the market has been divided into data management system, insulin delivery system, and combined system. The insulin delivery system segment accounted for the largest market share in 2016, attributed to rising incidence of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, and increasing demand for technologically innovative glucose management tools by patients. However, the data management system segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to lowering of laboratory and pharmacy costs. The precision and accuracy of the insulin delivery system are the major factors expected to boost the growth of the segment.Based on end-user, the global glucose management system has been classified into hospitals, clinics, and home care settings. The hospitals segment accounted for the largest market share in terms of revenue in 2016. Dominance of the hospitals segment is attributed to integration of insulin delivery system and data management software, and financial and clinician benefits to patients and physicians. However, the home care settings segment is expected to expand at a high CAGR during the forecast period, owing to the cost-saving attained by glucose management system and miniaturization of the insulin delivery system by manufacturers. Rising need and demand for high-tech diabetes care solutions and customer centric approach of manufacturers for developing the glucose management solutions are expected to be the major drivers of the hospitals and clinics segments during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.Geographically, the global glucose management systems market has been segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the global market in terms of revenue in 2016, attributed to rising per-capita expenditure of the population on health care and incorporation of wireless technology in the diabetes care sector by manufacturers. Technological advancements in the data management system to monitor blood glucose level and rising customer adoption for the same are the major factors likely to fuel the growth of the market in Asia Pacific during the forecast period. However, North America is expected to continue to dominate the global glucose management system market from 2017 to 2025, owing to rising investments by public and private players in the health care sector in emerging economies.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Key players in the global glucose management system market are F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Monarch Medical technologies, Animas Corporation, LifeScan, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, DarioHealth Corp., Abbott, Senseonics, and Dexcom, Inc., among others.About UsTransparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. 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 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: 866-552-3453E-mail: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite: Global Insulin Market Research Reports & Industry Analysis 2017 https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request-sample/?post=473129 https://www.reportsmonitor.com/make-enquiry/?post=473129 https://www.reportsmonitor.com/global-insulin-market-research-report-2017/ www.reportsmonitor.com This report analyzes the Global Insulin Market and covers the present scenario, the probable growth prospects and the future prospects. It also focuses on the probable future market landscape and the overall positive factors.The report gives an overview of the Insulin Market, the scope of the product, its application and the Global Market Size.Request a Sample Copy of this Report @The geographical split of this product can be split into some strategic regions on the basis of sales, revenue, market share and the growth rate of the Insulin Market from the year 2017 to 2022.They are as followsNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaThe top manufacturers/competitors on the basis of Price, revenue and the market share are as follows-Novo NordiskSanofiEli LillyBiotonDongbaoGan & LeeUnited Laboratories (TUL)Make an Enquiry for this Report @The Report also categorizes the production, revenue, price, market share and growth which is mainly divided intoShort-actingMid-actingLong-actingIt also shows the requirements of the end users/applications based on the status, outlook for the major applications, the sales volume and the market share for each application includingHospitalClinicHome UsageThe above report can be customized according to your needs.We at Reports Monitor provide a comprehensive analysis by providing in-depth reports of the various market verticals. Our Mission is to provide a detailed analysis of the vast markets worldwide, backed by rich data. Decision makers can now rely on our well-defined data gathering methods to get the correct and accurate market forecasting along with detailed analysis.Some Points from Table of Content1 Insulin Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Insulin1.2 Insulin Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Insulin Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Insulin Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Short-acting2 Global Insulin Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Insulin Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Insulin Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Insulin Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Insulin Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Browse Full Report @We have tried to include all the important data in the report and give you a comprehensive picture of the same.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.Jay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite: Mouth Ulcers Treatment Market Value Chain Analysis and Forecast up to 2020 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/mouth-ulcers-treatment-market.html https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2747 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=2747 https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=2747